Yesterday I spent a few hours with friends old and new.
We met up outside Mogamma and took a taxi up to Al Azhar Park. (10LE due to our fantastic bargaining skills!). The entrance fee cost 28LE for the 4 of us.
I have only been to Al Azhar Park once before, in the dark, so it was great to see it in the day time. 2 of the others had never been before at all. If you have never been it is a very attractive, well-maintained place with landscaped gardens, including many water features.
There are fabulous views over all of Cairo – it is close to the Moqattam Hills and the Citadel and, because the air was so clear yesterday, we also managed to catch a glimpse of the pyramids in the distance.
There are a number of cafes and restaurants dotted around but be warned they all have minimum charges varying from 25LE to 55LE per person. Luckily I had stopped off at the Giza bakery on the way and my 8.5LE bag of buns served us well and is feeding me today too! We were rather thirsty but came across a little stall selling cans of drink and icecreams.
We stayed there until sunset and the muted blues and oranges of the sky were lovely.
We then took a taxi (10LE again – more fantastic bargaining skills !) over to Khan El Khalili. We visited Al Hussein Mosque. We went in the women’s entrance. It was crowded with women and children pushing and shoving and we went through to the area where it is claimed that the head of the Prophet’s (pboh) grandson is kept. To be honest, we didn’t really find the experience of visiting this mosque uplifting. It was a shame I think that we couldn’t go into the main area which, glimpsed through the mens door, seemed to be very different from what we were able to see. Next time it would be nice to visit Al Azhar Mosque if its possible to contrast the two.
We then made our way to eat at the Naguib Mahfouz Cafe/Restaurant. The restaurant has quite a plain, simple grace to it and served ‘traditional’ Egyptian food in an upmarket way, prices not too bad as a treat, but its definately not GAD!!! (Falafels or koshari 14LE, other dishes - chickens, pigeons etc 60-70LE)
After that, we took a wander round Khan El Khalili. I’ve managed to avoid this place in all my time in Egypt and it was much quieter than I had imagined, and I was very pleasantly surprised at the low-key hassle we got from the shopkeepers. Some of them are very funny – ‘everything here is 100% discount’ ‘everything here today is free’ ‘how can I part you from your money today’ ‘whatever you want I have it’. All lit up in the dark it was like an Aladdin’s Cave. Here you could buy lots of brassware, scarves, galibayas, perfumes, rugs, lamps. Worth a visit after all.
Another 10LE taxi took us back to Ramses Station where we went our separate ways by bus and metro.
It was a beautiful relaxing day with many different impressions of Cairo, ancient and modern, blending themselves together in that unique Cairean style.
IMPRESSIONS FROM ONE OF MY FRIENDS:
It was an amazing day for me seeing Cairo in a way I had never seen it before. The park is high above the city, green, with water features everywhere; tranquil above the noise and bustle of the city and the view was wonderful. At sunset the buildings old and new were outlined through pastel colours of the evening sky.
A taxi ride to Khan el Khalili took us to the world below with vibrant colours, the air full of exotic perfumes and funny, friendly people to make you smile.
The restaurant was expensive, but part of the whole experience - worth paying more for a day you will remember forever!
(links etc to be added in a few days when not in a hurry!)
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Saturday, 27 December 2008
Nutcracker Ballet - Cairo 26th December
A group of us girlies went to the ballet last night - Nutcracker Suite at the Cairo Opera House.
It was a great evening - the place was full. The foyer of the Opera House had a very wintery theme with some mannequins done up in fabulous costumes. There was a also an area set aside with some handicrafts - vey good quality - embroidered tunics, tableware, carved wooden bowls etc.
I'm not too familiar with ballet though I've seen Nutcracker on tv when I was a kid and I think I saw Swan Lake once - again when I was a kid - so this was a relatively new experience for me.
The ballet was composed by Tchaikovsky. Set in the nineteenth century. The story is basically about a Christmas party - gorgeous costumes - and a young girl's dream after the party ends when she comes back into the 'ballroom' for want of a better word, shrinks in size, the mice are now as big as her and the toys come to life. In particular, the nutcracker comes to life as a prince and whisks her of to a magical winter wonderland.
The second act has the famous dances especially the arabian dance (which was exquisite) and the russian dance (cue cute kids alert). I really liked the scenery during the second act.
The lead female soloist dancers were Russian but most of the 'corps de ballet' appeared to be Egyptian.
I would say it was a predominantly Egyptian audience last night. There appeared to be several big groups of people who had all come together. I saw quite a few guys in 'black tie' including DJ and dickie bow.
The row behind us was entirely Egyptian women so I don't know if they had come unaccompanied by men or not.
It was a lovely evening especially for this time of year.
If anyone is interested to go, I think its playing until 30th December and there are 2 matinee performances (probably more kids will be at those) on 2 of the days. Our tickets were 50LE and we were on the middle balcony. I think seats are 25 - 75LE depending where you sit.
info about the Nutcracker Ballet
Cairo Opera Ballet Company
Cairo Opera House
It was a great evening - the place was full. The foyer of the Opera House had a very wintery theme with some mannequins done up in fabulous costumes. There was a also an area set aside with some handicrafts - vey good quality - embroidered tunics, tableware, carved wooden bowls etc.
I'm not too familiar with ballet though I've seen Nutcracker on tv when I was a kid and I think I saw Swan Lake once - again when I was a kid - so this was a relatively new experience for me.
The ballet was composed by Tchaikovsky. Set in the nineteenth century. The story is basically about a Christmas party - gorgeous costumes - and a young girl's dream after the party ends when she comes back into the 'ballroom' for want of a better word, shrinks in size, the mice are now as big as her and the toys come to life. In particular, the nutcracker comes to life as a prince and whisks her of to a magical winter wonderland.
The second act has the famous dances especially the arabian dance (which was exquisite) and the russian dance (cue cute kids alert). I really liked the scenery during the second act.
The lead female soloist dancers were Russian but most of the 'corps de ballet' appeared to be Egyptian.
I would say it was a predominantly Egyptian audience last night. There appeared to be several big groups of people who had all come together. I saw quite a few guys in 'black tie' including DJ and dickie bow.
The row behind us was entirely Egyptian women so I don't know if they had come unaccompanied by men or not.
It was a lovely evening especially for this time of year.
If anyone is interested to go, I think its playing until 30th December and there are 2 matinee performances (probably more kids will be at those) on 2 of the days. Our tickets were 50LE and we were on the middle balcony. I think seats are 25 - 75LE depending where you sit.
info about the Nutcracker Ballet
Cairo Opera Ballet Company
Cairo Opera House
Thursday, 25 December 2008
St Pixels Online Virtual Church
11pm Egypt Time (9pm GMT) today - St Pixels online Christmas Service
Well its Christmas Day today. Not a big deal for me - I have avoided Christmas for the past 15 years or so for personal reasons (not sad ones just for info!). However, I know it is a time when many people, especially those far from home, miss family and friends, and also some of the Christmas traditions like going to Church.
About 18 months ago I read an article in The Church Times about an online church called St Pixels www.stpixels.com. Even though I don't 'do' church I was interested in the idea as I have been a consumer of online communities for many years and realise the potential they have for developing friendships and support networks spanning the globe in many spheres of life.
Last night, I once again posted a link to this church on one of the Egypt forums I frequent for anyone who was missing their Christmas church. There was an online carol service last night and tonight at 9pm UK time (11pm Egypt Time) there is an online Christmas service. However, this time I decided to check it out for myself to see how long it took to load and the format of the online service.
For me, it took 20 minutes from initial registration to entering the online service. I already have java on my computer so not sure how long extra you would need to allow if you don't already have it.
Ok process -
First you need to register on the site, this takes the usual form these days of registering, confirmation email etc.
Then, for St Pixels Live your computer needs to be able to run java - most computers can, but if its not your own computer then ability may have been turned off. (You can check if you have got java by clicking on this Chat Room demo demo to see if you have got java on your computer. If you get an orange box with the word Java on it and then a chat room login page, then you should be ok for this. Otherwise you will have to download it.
This downloads and there are details on the site of what to do at various stages.
Eventually you will have an icon appear on your desktop for St Pixels. Click it and you get a plan of a church up in the top right hand corner. If you wait a few moments, you will see number coming up showing the number of people in the various areas of the church so you can see if they are in the Sanctuary (for the service) or the Bar (for random chatting).
The service is led in a top box where the various elements that you would normally hear read out are posted. You can interact in the lower box if you wish though it seemed most people didn't. At some point organ music started coming out so you could connect to either speakers or headset and sing along if you wish. At this point I had a phone call so was not able to see if they put the words up for those whose memory may be a little rusty on the subject of Hark The Herald Angels Sing.
I returned later to 'the Bar' and chatted to a few people - you don't have to be religious to join, and I was assured that a couple of atheists attend regularly. I did say that just because I don't do Church doesn't mean I'm an atheist!
As ever with online forums there are rules to follow and St Pixels has a set of core values which you should agree to before joining - basically around tolerance of people with different opinions, not taking offence at things and so on and so forth.
Here is a quick one page summary of the site: St Pixels in one page
I think this is a great idea whether you are big on church or not. In fact the more I am looking at it, I'm thinking its a gorgeous site - very attractive to look at and use, its quality work!
------------------------------------
Online worshipping communities:
These are links simply as a service to my readers, I have not tried them out and cannot speak for any views or otherwise expressed therein... (I will add to this list as and when I become aware of places!)
Christian
St Pixels
The Internet Church
Jewish
Cyber Synagogue
Muslim
I haven't been able to find an online mosque yet, but apparently there's one in Second Life:
article about Virtual Mosque in Second Life
Another possibility is a new virtual Muslim world
Muxlim Pal
Well its Christmas Day today. Not a big deal for me - I have avoided Christmas for the past 15 years or so for personal reasons (not sad ones just for info!). However, I know it is a time when many people, especially those far from home, miss family and friends, and also some of the Christmas traditions like going to Church.
About 18 months ago I read an article in The Church Times about an online church called St Pixels www.stpixels.com. Even though I don't 'do' church I was interested in the idea as I have been a consumer of online communities for many years and realise the potential they have for developing friendships and support networks spanning the globe in many spheres of life.
Last night, I once again posted a link to this church on one of the Egypt forums I frequent for anyone who was missing their Christmas church. There was an online carol service last night and tonight at 9pm UK time (11pm Egypt Time) there is an online Christmas service. However, this time I decided to check it out for myself to see how long it took to load and the format of the online service.
For me, it took 20 minutes from initial registration to entering the online service. I already have java on my computer so not sure how long extra you would need to allow if you don't already have it.
Ok process -
First you need to register on the site, this takes the usual form these days of registering, confirmation email etc.
Then, for St Pixels Live your computer needs to be able to run java - most computers can, but if its not your own computer then ability may have been turned off. (You can check if you have got java by clicking on this Chat Room demo demo to see if you have got java on your computer. If you get an orange box with the word Java on it and then a chat room login page, then you should be ok for this. Otherwise you will have to download it.
This downloads and there are details on the site of what to do at various stages.
Eventually you will have an icon appear on your desktop for St Pixels. Click it and you get a plan of a church up in the top right hand corner. If you wait a few moments, you will see number coming up showing the number of people in the various areas of the church so you can see if they are in the Sanctuary (for the service) or the Bar (for random chatting).
The service is led in a top box where the various elements that you would normally hear read out are posted. You can interact in the lower box if you wish though it seemed most people didn't. At some point organ music started coming out so you could connect to either speakers or headset and sing along if you wish. At this point I had a phone call so was not able to see if they put the words up for those whose memory may be a little rusty on the subject of Hark The Herald Angels Sing.
I returned later to 'the Bar' and chatted to a few people - you don't have to be religious to join, and I was assured that a couple of atheists attend regularly. I did say that just because I don't do Church doesn't mean I'm an atheist!
As ever with online forums there are rules to follow and St Pixels has a set of core values which you should agree to before joining - basically around tolerance of people with different opinions, not taking offence at things and so on and so forth.
Here is a quick one page summary of the site: St Pixels in one page
I think this is a great idea whether you are big on church or not. In fact the more I am looking at it, I'm thinking its a gorgeous site - very attractive to look at and use, its quality work!
------------------------------------
Online worshipping communities:
These are links simply as a service to my readers, I have not tried them out and cannot speak for any views or otherwise expressed therein... (I will add to this list as and when I become aware of places!)
Christian
St Pixels
The Internet Church
Jewish
Cyber Synagogue
Muslim
I haven't been able to find an online mosque yet, but apparently there's one in Second Life:
article about Virtual Mosque in Second Life
Another possibility is a new virtual Muslim world
Muxlim Pal
Saturday, 29 November 2008
One year ago today I moved here....
I left London exactly a year ago today to relocate to Cairo. Someone asked me if it was the right decision and if I have any regrets.
Answers on a postcard:
Absolutely the right decision.
I have no regrets whatsoever.
What has it been like
My quality of life and health have improved immeasurably. 18 months ago, before quitting my job, I had a pulse rate typically 90+, with skipping heart beats, blood pressure of around 168/120, was permanently tired and suffering some rather scarey symptoms. Within a couple of months of moving here (no medication, no exercise or diet programmes), pulse rate is now typically 75, blood pressure 125/80, and very rare skipping heart beats. I'm 10kg lighter with barely any effort. That says it all as far as I'm concerned.
In terms of how the last year has gone - my first few weeks were a frantic round of sorting out electricity meters, phones etc, I then fell into a lethargic phase - adjusting to the fact that (a) I no longer had a full time job and (b) that all the focus of moving here which occupied the last few months in the UK was gone so I had to figure how I was going to spend my time 'productively'. I found getting to nightfall and feeling I had achieved nothing all day stressful. OK for a week's holiday but not ok when that's the life you could lead if you wanted to - and I've certainly no interest in a 'coffee morning' sub-colonial lifestyle.
I had started retraining for a new career just a few weeks before leaving the UK so I needed to make progress on that which I have (qualifying in October - some of you know what but I don't wish to discuss it here).
I have enjoyed discovering more about Egyptian life, meeting new people, my family relationships are SO much better - we have so much more contact and on a deeper level than when I was living a life of get up - commute for 2 hours - work 9 hours - commute for 2 hours - work for 3 hours - bed unrelentingly day in and day out.
I enjoyed my last trip to the UK because that was now 'the holiday' so I was able to relax. To afford to live there as a single person would be impossible - I would have to go back to the same kind of high salary, deeply stressful, demanding life that I left behind.
Egypt has its problems, which of course are discussed by many on different forums around the web, but it has so many pluses as well which is what I try to focus on with my posts. Most of my experiences with Egyptians are wholly positive (and I'm talking about casual experiences not individual friendships) - so kind and helpful.
I guess maybe I'm lucky in experiencing almost no sexual harassment at all compared to the reports some people make - I have had 3 mild incidents in the last 12 months - the policeman with 'bosa bosa habiby' after my quicksand incident (which I don't think I posted here on the blog - I'll dig it out), one pinched bum walking down the road in Zamalek and one groped ass from behind on one microbus ride (both these two incidents on the same day I might say - was it my perfume LOL!). Certainly I experienced far more sexual harassment than this in the UK. I'm sorry if people don't like to hear me say this, but that's my personal experience. I have never felt in danger here the way I did on occasion in the UK. I have never worried that I will get knifed on the way back from the metro station by someone high as a kite on crack wanting my possessions for fund his or her habit. I'm not belittling others experience just saying how it is for me.
The kind of things that drive me nuts - tradesmen not turning up when they said they would - is exactly the same as in the UK. How many times did I wait in from 7am to 6pm for those deliveries that never came either taking annual leave or working from home?
I'm annoyed with myself for not making better progress in speaking Arabic, but it seems to have started to 'cascade' lately - I'm quite often able to understand conversations aimed at me without being able to identify individual words. My use of 'mish fahma' is decreasing.
Its been great working as an English teacher of adults a few hours a week. A pain in the ass sometimes, but on the whole learning a lot about the thoughts of, I guess, the 'middle classes' - aspirational young professionals, older people wanting to advance their careers. It was fabulous having the opportunity in August to run 6 management training seminars (all unpaid!) and learning the difference in approaches, learning that perhaps what expats in companies tell you - that Egyptians don't want to work in workshops - is more like they don't know how because they have little experience from their educational system of being considered to have valid opinions and that the 'teacher' doesn't know everything.
If there is one thing I would seek to change in Egypt and which I think would impact everything else, it is the educational system which does not serve the general population well. I think I've said elsewhere that the fact that so many Egyptians DO manage to survive this system and achieve a reasonable level of education is a credit to them!
And of course, I just LOVE the buses - microbuses, minibuses, mythical 'air conditioned' buses - all wonderful
Answers on a postcard:
Absolutely the right decision.
I have no regrets whatsoever.
What has it been like
My quality of life and health have improved immeasurably. 18 months ago, before quitting my job, I had a pulse rate typically 90+, with skipping heart beats, blood pressure of around 168/120, was permanently tired and suffering some rather scarey symptoms. Within a couple of months of moving here (no medication, no exercise or diet programmes), pulse rate is now typically 75, blood pressure 125/80, and very rare skipping heart beats. I'm 10kg lighter with barely any effort. That says it all as far as I'm concerned.
In terms of how the last year has gone - my first few weeks were a frantic round of sorting out electricity meters, phones etc, I then fell into a lethargic phase - adjusting to the fact that (a) I no longer had a full time job and (b) that all the focus of moving here which occupied the last few months in the UK was gone so I had to figure how I was going to spend my time 'productively'. I found getting to nightfall and feeling I had achieved nothing all day stressful. OK for a week's holiday but not ok when that's the life you could lead if you wanted to - and I've certainly no interest in a 'coffee morning' sub-colonial lifestyle.
I had started retraining for a new career just a few weeks before leaving the UK so I needed to make progress on that which I have (qualifying in October - some of you know what but I don't wish to discuss it here).
I have enjoyed discovering more about Egyptian life, meeting new people, my family relationships are SO much better - we have so much more contact and on a deeper level than when I was living a life of get up - commute for 2 hours - work 9 hours - commute for 2 hours - work for 3 hours - bed unrelentingly day in and day out.
I enjoyed my last trip to the UK because that was now 'the holiday' so I was able to relax. To afford to live there as a single person would be impossible - I would have to go back to the same kind of high salary, deeply stressful, demanding life that I left behind.
Egypt has its problems, which of course are discussed by many on different forums around the web, but it has so many pluses as well which is what I try to focus on with my posts. Most of my experiences with Egyptians are wholly positive (and I'm talking about casual experiences not individual friendships) - so kind and helpful.
I guess maybe I'm lucky in experiencing almost no sexual harassment at all compared to the reports some people make - I have had 3 mild incidents in the last 12 months - the policeman with 'bosa bosa habiby' after my quicksand incident (which I don't think I posted here on the blog - I'll dig it out), one pinched bum walking down the road in Zamalek and one groped ass from behind on one microbus ride (both these two incidents on the same day I might say - was it my perfume LOL!). Certainly I experienced far more sexual harassment than this in the UK. I'm sorry if people don't like to hear me say this, but that's my personal experience. I have never felt in danger here the way I did on occasion in the UK. I have never worried that I will get knifed on the way back from the metro station by someone high as a kite on crack wanting my possessions for fund his or her habit. I'm not belittling others experience just saying how it is for me.
The kind of things that drive me nuts - tradesmen not turning up when they said they would - is exactly the same as in the UK. How many times did I wait in from 7am to 6pm for those deliveries that never came either taking annual leave or working from home?
I'm annoyed with myself for not making better progress in speaking Arabic, but it seems to have started to 'cascade' lately - I'm quite often able to understand conversations aimed at me without being able to identify individual words. My use of 'mish fahma' is decreasing.
Its been great working as an English teacher of adults a few hours a week. A pain in the ass sometimes, but on the whole learning a lot about the thoughts of, I guess, the 'middle classes' - aspirational young professionals, older people wanting to advance their careers. It was fabulous having the opportunity in August to run 6 management training seminars (all unpaid!) and learning the difference in approaches, learning that perhaps what expats in companies tell you - that Egyptians don't want to work in workshops - is more like they don't know how because they have little experience from their educational system of being considered to have valid opinions and that the 'teacher' doesn't know everything.
If there is one thing I would seek to change in Egypt and which I think would impact everything else, it is the educational system which does not serve the general population well. I think I've said elsewhere that the fact that so many Egyptians DO manage to survive this system and achieve a reasonable level of education is a credit to them!
And of course, I just LOVE the buses - microbuses, minibuses, mythical 'air conditioned' buses - all wonderful
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
Remember, remember the 5th of November...
Stop Press: apparently the Brit Clubs in Cairo (Mohandseen and Heliopolis) are having Bonfire Night parties Thursday night.
Slightly off-topic for Egypt - but its my blog and I'll stray if I want to :D..
Tonight is the night when the annual British custom of honouring the attempt by the Roman Catholic Guy Fawkes and co-conspiritors to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605 - it never being quite clear whether we are honouring in true Brit fashion the notable failures as heroes (eg Eddie the Eagle), or the capture and execution of Mr Fawkes - takes place.
Read more about The Gunpowder Plot here - nice site for kids.
This takes the form of a large bonfire, a stuffed mannekin to represent Guy (made of old clothes) and lots of fireworks. Plus the consumption of 'bonfire toffee', baked spuds in tinfoil etc. .
yummy bonfire night party recipes
Nowadays, it is more 'safety conscious' and most people go to the communally organized, risk-assessed, Health & Safety dominated, trained 'firework engineers' (ok I made that bit up [Wink] ) set ups for their displays.
Nonetheless, living here in Egypt, I do not miss for one second the marauding gangs of teenagers and youths who let off fireworks for weeks before and after this night.
As a teenager, when my dad taught at the local 'secondary modern' school, and I attended the local grammar school, late October and early November were a time of particular misery for me when any kid who had got a detention off my dad would lie in wait for me on my way home from school and stuff lit 'bangers' in my coat hood or throw them at me from across the street. I've always had an aversion to things that go bang (eg balloons - I hate them) since then.
In Walthamstow there were firework festivals all year round - Bonfire Night (plus the weekends either side if it fell midweek), Diwali, Eid, random football events. If you heard explosions outside or the rat-a-tat-tat of some of the fireworks, you were never sure if it was some kind of festival or gang warfare breaking out.
So, how many events here in Egypt are celebrated with fireworks? I've heard them once or twice coming from Dreamland but they don't seem connected with any special festival.
Slightly off-topic for Egypt - but its my blog and I'll stray if I want to :D..
Tonight is the night when the annual British custom of honouring the attempt by the Roman Catholic Guy Fawkes and co-conspiritors to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605 - it never being quite clear whether we are honouring in true Brit fashion the notable failures as heroes (eg Eddie the Eagle), or the capture and execution of Mr Fawkes - takes place.
Read more about The Gunpowder Plot here - nice site for kids.
This takes the form of a large bonfire, a stuffed mannekin to represent Guy (made of old clothes) and lots of fireworks. Plus the consumption of 'bonfire toffee', baked spuds in tinfoil etc. .
yummy bonfire night party recipes
Nowadays, it is more 'safety conscious' and most people go to the communally organized, risk-assessed, Health & Safety dominated, trained 'firework engineers' (ok I made that bit up [Wink] ) set ups for their displays.
Nonetheless, living here in Egypt, I do not miss for one second the marauding gangs of teenagers and youths who let off fireworks for weeks before and after this night.
As a teenager, when my dad taught at the local 'secondary modern' school, and I attended the local grammar school, late October and early November were a time of particular misery for me when any kid who had got a detention off my dad would lie in wait for me on my way home from school and stuff lit 'bangers' in my coat hood or throw them at me from across the street. I've always had an aversion to things that go bang (eg balloons - I hate them) since then.
In Walthamstow there were firework festivals all year round - Bonfire Night (plus the weekends either side if it fell midweek), Diwali, Eid, random football events. If you heard explosions outside or the rat-a-tat-tat of some of the fireworks, you were never sure if it was some kind of festival or gang warfare breaking out.
So, how many events here in Egypt are celebrated with fireworks? I've heard them once or twice coming from Dreamland but they don't seem connected with any special festival.
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Cairo Opera House - Turandot (the one with Nessan Dorma)
On Tuesday night, I had a very enjoyable evening at Cairo Opera House with a friend. We went to see the opera Turandot (that's the one with the Nessan Dorma in it).
Written by Puccini and first performed in 1926, it is set in China and tells the story of a cold-hearted princess who sends her many suitors to their deaths when they fail to answer her riddles. Of course, 'our hero' solves the riddles and wins her heart.
I took a couple of surreptious photos on my camera phone but alas they failed to come out well. You can see pictures in this report (in English):
China Daily report on the performance with photos
The costumes and sets were sumptious and the voices of the lead characters excellent. I discovered a 'hidden prejudice' in myself by being amazed at hearing Chinese singers singing Western opera. Ping, Pang and Pong were very colourful and great tragi-comic figures. The rendition of 'Nessan Dorma' sounded to my ears equally as good as Pavarotti's popular 'football anthem'. The two lead females also had extremely strong voices and I'm sure they were projecting without artificial means. There was a standing ovation at the end for the Princess.
The only person having real problems was the sub-titler, frequently getting out of step with the singers. Some of the translations also made me smile.
My friend and I reflected a while on the slight absurdity of seeing an Italian opera sung in Italian by the Chinese National Opera with English subtitles in the Cairo Opera House, Egypt. A truly international occasion.
The Cairo Opera House is situated on the southern end of Gezira Island (which has Zamalek at the northern end) - in central Cairo. It has its own metro station (Opera) on the Shubra-Giza line - just one stop from Sadat - one of the two interchange stations.
It is of modern design and construction - a Japanese/Egyptian collaboration - building was started in 1985 and the inaugral ceremony was held in October 1988. The building reflects Islamic architecture and other cultural centres within the grounds include the Museum of Modern Art, Palace of Arts, and Music Library.
There are a number of venues within the main building - Main Hall, Small Hall, Open Air Theatre plus associated venues situatied outside this complex.
The Main Hall is balconied. We paid 50LE for our seats in 'the Gods'. However, there were so many empty seats, we were allowed to move to the 100LE seats near the front after the first Act.
The audience was mixed, as a rough guess I would say 50-60% were Egyptian and the rest a mixture of Chinese, European and American visitors.
My friend was grateful that smoking was permitted in the outer areas (not in the Main Hall), and coffee, tea and cakes were available in the intervals.
The airconditioning system was very 'fresh' so a wrap of some sort would have been useful. The dress code seemed to be smart casual - all the men were in jackets and ties, women in anything except jeans. Very few people were wearing 'black tie'.
For further info about the Opera House, including the programme, click here:
Cairo Opera House
More info about Turandot: Turandot
China National Opera: Central Opera House of China
Written by Puccini and first performed in 1926, it is set in China and tells the story of a cold-hearted princess who sends her many suitors to their deaths when they fail to answer her riddles. Of course, 'our hero' solves the riddles and wins her heart.
I took a couple of surreptious photos on my camera phone but alas they failed to come out well. You can see pictures in this report (in English):
China Daily report on the performance with photos
The costumes and sets were sumptious and the voices of the lead characters excellent. I discovered a 'hidden prejudice' in myself by being amazed at hearing Chinese singers singing Western opera. Ping, Pang and Pong were very colourful and great tragi-comic figures. The rendition of 'Nessan Dorma' sounded to my ears equally as good as Pavarotti's popular 'football anthem'. The two lead females also had extremely strong voices and I'm sure they were projecting without artificial means. There was a standing ovation at the end for the Princess.
The only person having real problems was the sub-titler, frequently getting out of step with the singers. Some of the translations also made me smile.
My friend and I reflected a while on the slight absurdity of seeing an Italian opera sung in Italian by the Chinese National Opera with English subtitles in the Cairo Opera House, Egypt. A truly international occasion.
The Cairo Opera House is situated on the southern end of Gezira Island (which has Zamalek at the northern end) - in central Cairo. It has its own metro station (Opera) on the Shubra-Giza line - just one stop from Sadat - one of the two interchange stations.
It is of modern design and construction - a Japanese/Egyptian collaboration - building was started in 1985 and the inaugral ceremony was held in October 1988. The building reflects Islamic architecture and other cultural centres within the grounds include the Museum of Modern Art, Palace of Arts, and Music Library.
There are a number of venues within the main building - Main Hall, Small Hall, Open Air Theatre plus associated venues situatied outside this complex.
The Main Hall is balconied. We paid 50LE for our seats in 'the Gods'. However, there were so many empty seats, we were allowed to move to the 100LE seats near the front after the first Act.
The audience was mixed, as a rough guess I would say 50-60% were Egyptian and the rest a mixture of Chinese, European and American visitors.
My friend was grateful that smoking was permitted in the outer areas (not in the Main Hall), and coffee, tea and cakes were available in the intervals.
The airconditioning system was very 'fresh' so a wrap of some sort would have been useful. The dress code seemed to be smart casual - all the men were in jackets and ties, women in anything except jeans. Very few people were wearing 'black tie'.
For further info about the Opera House, including the programme, click here:
Cairo Opera House
More info about Turandot: Turandot
China National Opera: Central Opera House of China
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
Life coaching comes to Cairo!
A friend of mine, Amal, has started up a personal lifecoaching service, based here in Cairo, for Muslim women, and, as far as we know, it’s the first service of its kind here in Egypt.
So what is lifecoaching? Basically it’s a process that helps clients to articulate their dreams and aspirations, to clarify their purposes and goals, and to then help them achieve outcomes in any area of their life: personal, professional, relationships, health… A coach uses various methods derived from management and leadership theories, behavioural therapy, and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), to assist their clients to reach their personally identified goals.
Coaches are not therapists or consultants for psychological problems, neither are they counsellors who delve into the past, or mentors who are experts in a given field, they are future-focussed sounding boards and motivators, who lead from behind. It’s their clients who identify their own goals; the coach’s job is to ask probing provocative questions, provide insights and motivation, really listen, give honest feedback, and help the clients to develop strategies to achieve their goals.
Lifecoaching is very popular in the UK and the Australia now, and spreading to the US and Canada, but the unique aspect of Amal’s service it that it is only offered to English speaking practicing Muslim women. She was trained in Canada by Muhammad Alshareef (the founder of AlMaghrib Institute among other organizations) through DiscoverU (www.discoverulife.com) to use techniques and methods that are successful in secular coaching, and apply them within an Islamic framework.
Although she is based here in Cairo, the service actually is international, as she carries out her 2-weekly coaching sessions by phone or internet and is supported by the DiscoverU website, through which clients get access to NLP techniques and personal development tools, forums, and coaching calls. She does however offer a special discount for people in Egypt who are on lower incomes, knowing that western fees may be beyond the reach of many here.
If you’d like to know more about her service, please email her on
Email Amal (her website is transferring webhosts and will be back soon!)
So what is lifecoaching? Basically it’s a process that helps clients to articulate their dreams and aspirations, to clarify their purposes and goals, and to then help them achieve outcomes in any area of their life: personal, professional, relationships, health… A coach uses various methods derived from management and leadership theories, behavioural therapy, and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), to assist their clients to reach their personally identified goals.
Coaches are not therapists or consultants for psychological problems, neither are they counsellors who delve into the past, or mentors who are experts in a given field, they are future-focussed sounding boards and motivators, who lead from behind. It’s their clients who identify their own goals; the coach’s job is to ask probing provocative questions, provide insights and motivation, really listen, give honest feedback, and help the clients to develop strategies to achieve their goals.
Lifecoaching is very popular in the UK and the Australia now, and spreading to the US and Canada, but the unique aspect of Amal’s service it that it is only offered to English speaking practicing Muslim women. She was trained in Canada by Muhammad Alshareef (the founder of AlMaghrib Institute among other organizations) through DiscoverU (www.discoverulife.com) to use techniques and methods that are successful in secular coaching, and apply them within an Islamic framework.
Although she is based here in Cairo, the service actually is international, as she carries out her 2-weekly coaching sessions by phone or internet and is supported by the DiscoverU website, through which clients get access to NLP techniques and personal development tools, forums, and coaching calls. She does however offer a special discount for people in Egypt who are on lower incomes, knowing that western fees may be beyond the reach of many here.
If you’d like to know more about her service, please email her on
Email Amal (her website is transferring webhosts and will be back soon!)
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