EL KORBA FESTIVAL 2011 - 1ST JULY 2011
http://oldbagofcairo.blogspot.com/2011/06/el-korba-festival-2011.html
THE REST OF THIS POST RELATES TO THE 2010 FESTIVAL
hi
there is 2 things now about the carnival
1. it may be held next friday 14/5/2010 from 10 am to 10 pm
2. that there is no carnival and they replace it with soe sord of music festival its gonne be on 25/5/2010
we r not sure yet we r gonne send u msg 2 confirm if there is gonne be a carnival or not and if they really replace it with that music festival or not
sorry but we all r confused
we r really sorry
thx very much
wait for the next msg and isa there is gonne be a carnival
This is information received:
el korba carnival 2tla3'a el sana dyh 3alashan el daw3y el 2mnya wa plz ay 7ad ya3raf ay 7ad ray7 yome el goma3a wa howa mash moshtriek mma3na
fe el group plz ya2olo and thnx la ta3wnkom ma3na
Translation :
Elkorba carnival has been cancelled for this year due to security measures, please notify anyone you know who isn't in our group and who might be going on Friday and thanks for your cooperation.
Check out the facebook groups for further information:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=118580281490037
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=249469448151&ref=ts
Seems it's going to be turned into a music festival on 25th June possibly?
Sorry chaps!
Monday, 10 May 2010
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Volcano - link to list of updated European Airport Closures
Frequently updated list of European Airport Closures:
Airline industry list
I think they update it every time there's a change in the situation.
Airline industry list
I think they update it every time there's a change in the situation.
Volcano - British Embassy Cairo - letter to people stranded by volcano
This was sent out this morning by the British Embassy:
20 April 2010
To Whom It May Concern
We know that there are large numbers of British citizens stranded across Egypt from Sharm to Luxor - over 20,000 we estimate. You will all be keen to return home to the UK as soon as is feasible, however pleasant it may be here in Egypt.
The British Government is working hard on a plan to get you home: more information on that plan is set out elsewhere on this web-site. I wanted to let you know that we at the British Embassy here in Egypt are also doing what we can to assist those in need whilst they are stranded. We have been working closely with the Egyptian authorities. We are visiting the airports, speaking regularly to the airline companies, tour operators and travel agents.
The British Government is looking at the option of Spain becoming a Hub very carefully and will make a decision in the next day or so. However, our strong advice is not to travel to Spain but to stay where you are and stay in close contact with your airlines and tour operator.
More advice is set out on this web-site and on the FCO web-site [www.ukinegypt.fco.gov.uk and www.fco.gov.uk] and the FCO has set up a consular emergency contact phone number + 44 207 008 0000 which can provide advice on specific cases.
Please be assured we will continue to provide assistance as necessary and I will ensure that this web-site is up-dated with new information as it becomes available. You should also register on LOCATE to ensure you receive latest updates. You can register by logging on to our website
Please keep yourself updated by checking our websites: www.ukinegypt.fco.gov.uk and www.fco.gov.uk.
Dawn Naughton
HM Consul
20 April 2010
To Whom It May Concern
We know that there are large numbers of British citizens stranded across Egypt from Sharm to Luxor - over 20,000 we estimate. You will all be keen to return home to the UK as soon as is feasible, however pleasant it may be here in Egypt.
The British Government is working hard on a plan to get you home: more information on that plan is set out elsewhere on this web-site. I wanted to let you know that we at the British Embassy here in Egypt are also doing what we can to assist those in need whilst they are stranded. We have been working closely with the Egyptian authorities. We are visiting the airports, speaking regularly to the airline companies, tour operators and travel agents.
The British Government is looking at the option of Spain becoming a Hub very carefully and will make a decision in the next day or so. However, our strong advice is not to travel to Spain but to stay where you are and stay in close contact with your airlines and tour operator.
More advice is set out on this web-site and on the FCO web-site [www.ukinegypt.fco.gov.uk and www.fco.gov.uk] and the FCO has set up a consular emergency contact phone number + 44 207 008 0000 which can provide advice on specific cases.
Please be assured we will continue to provide assistance as necessary and I will ensure that this web-site is up-dated with new information as it becomes available. You should also register on LOCATE to ensure you receive latest updates. You can register by logging on to our website
Please keep yourself updated by checking our websites: www.ukinegypt.fco.gov.uk and www.fco.gov.uk.
Dawn Naughton
HM Consul
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
El Korba Festival 2010
EL KORBA FESTIVAL 2011 - 1ST JULY 2011
The rest of this post refers to the aborted 2010 festival.
STOP PRESS - Latest news is that it's FRIDAY 14th MAY 2010 - will do my best to keep you updated
The rest of this post refers to the aborted 2010 festival.
STOP PRESS - Latest news is that it's FRIDAY 14th MAY 2010 - will do my best to keep you updated
See the Facebook Group now showing FRIDAY 14TH MAY ONLY
The 2010 El Korba Festival Baghdad Street, Heliopolis, Cairo will be held on 15th May.
This is a great fun street festival and here's a blog I wrote about the 2008 one El Korba Festival 2008 blogpost
I have been 2 years in a row now. Unfortunately I will not be able to go to this year's festival as I have other plans.
Enjoy!!
Oh, and by the way, they have a Facebook Group this year you can join!
El Korba 2010 Facebook Group
El Korba Festival 2010
El Korba Carnival 2010
Baghdad Street
Heliopolis
Getting there - you can take the tram from Ramses Train Station (central Cairo) to Roxy (about 20 minutes and 50 pst) and it's around 10 minutes walk.
Thursday, 25 February 2010
PETS: Bringing pets to Cairo.
One Fleeting Glimpse has just made an excellent detailed post on bringing her dog in from the US.
Please note that experiences differ from country to country and it seems that the originating airport is the crucial difference, not the Cairo end.
Bringing in from the US seems a relatively painless challenge:
OFG - Moving your dog to Egypt from US
Bringing in from the UK:
OBC - Bringing cats to Cairo from UK Heathrow
Bringing in from Ireland via Germany:
Expat Focus forum post
If you want an Egyptian 'fixer' at this end "just in case", then several people have used the following for getting pets from the air cargo place (I have NOT personally.)
Quick Cargo
5 Tehran St. Dokki
P.O. Box 415 Dokki
Tel: 35390262/3/4/5
Fax: 35390383
Comments about Quick Cargo from someone who was glad she used them (it might not seem the most glowing review but she wouldn't have her dog without them).
"Quick Cargo was chaotic and very very time consuming. For a start no one seemed to know exactly where to find Quick Cargo and it took a couple of hours asking people and driving round in the taxi before someone caught on to the idea of calling them on the number I kept waving.
There were 2 Quick Cargo-ites Fady and Nagy. Fady rode a motorbike and zoomed off with papers here and there and Nagy rode with us leaping out at different buildings. When they found out the dog was at Heathrow it had already been about 4 or 5 hours since we landed.
Next day we set off again at 4.30pm and got the dog at 8.45pm finally. There were some nasty rows between "helpers" and the Quick Cargo men, as the helpers thought they were over charging me. 280$ plus 1,500 EGL import charge. After a huge to do the import duty was suddenly reduced to 300EGL. I could NOT have managed to get the dog without Quick Cargo so to some extent they had me over a barrel, the import thing is so complicated and my nerves were like strings. I thought (Rover) would be dead, suffocated, starved etc etc but she is fine.
I am so grateful to you for suggesting Quick Cargo whatever the cost. I think I would still be looking for the dog now without their help."
VETS IN CAIRO
Blog post I made with names and addresses:
OBC - Vets in Cairo
I have personally used Dr Rania Kashif ("Vets in Practice" - 6th October City and Maadi)
Please note that experiences differ from country to country and it seems that the originating airport is the crucial difference, not the Cairo end.
Bringing in from the US seems a relatively painless challenge:
OFG - Moving your dog to Egypt from US
Bringing in from the UK:
OBC - Bringing cats to Cairo from UK Heathrow
Bringing in from Ireland via Germany:
Expat Focus forum post
If you want an Egyptian 'fixer' at this end "just in case", then several people have used the following for getting pets from the air cargo place (I have NOT personally.)
Quick Cargo
5 Tehran St. Dokki
P.O. Box 415 Dokki
Tel: 35390262/3/4/5
Fax: 35390383
Comments about Quick Cargo from someone who was glad she used them (it might not seem the most glowing review but she wouldn't have her dog without them).
"Quick Cargo was chaotic and very very time consuming. For a start no one seemed to know exactly where to find Quick Cargo and it took a couple of hours asking people and driving round in the taxi before someone caught on to the idea of calling them on the number I kept waving.
There were 2 Quick Cargo-ites Fady and Nagy. Fady rode a motorbike and zoomed off with papers here and there and Nagy rode with us leaping out at different buildings. When they found out the dog was at Heathrow it had already been about 4 or 5 hours since we landed.
Next day we set off again at 4.30pm and got the dog at 8.45pm finally. There were some nasty rows between "helpers" and the Quick Cargo men, as the helpers thought they were over charging me. 280$ plus 1,500 EGL import charge. After a huge to do the import duty was suddenly reduced to 300EGL. I could NOT have managed to get the dog without Quick Cargo so to some extent they had me over a barrel, the import thing is so complicated and my nerves were like strings. I thought (Rover) would be dead, suffocated, starved etc etc but she is fine.
I am so grateful to you for suggesting Quick Cargo whatever the cost. I think I would still be looking for the dog now without their help."
VETS IN CAIRO
Blog post I made with names and addresses:
OBC - Vets in Cairo
I have personally used Dr Rania Kashif ("Vets in Practice" - 6th October City and Maadi)
Friday, 19 February 2010
IMPORTANT - PASSPORT RENEWALS - ALL BRITISH NATIONALS IN EGYPT (AND ANYWHERE ELSE!)
22/2/2010: STOP PRESS: THE BRITISH EMBASSY WEBSITE HAS NOW BEEN UPDATED:
UPDATED BRITISH EMBASSY WEBSITE
And I quote:
I have just been informed tonight (and have been sent a copy of a letter from the British Embassy in Cairo to prove it!) that from 15th APRIL 2010 it will NO LONGER BE POSSIBLE TO RENEW YOUR (FULL VALIDITY) PASSPORT AT THE BRITISH EMBASSY HERE.
AT THE TIME OF WRITING, THIS DOES NOT YET APPEAR ON THE EMBASSY WEBSITE
Update from a source:
"Applications direct to Paris and returned to your overseas address via courier (to be paid for by you of course) if you don't trust the post. Embassy only to get involved in emergencies. This will make it really secure........ go figure.......This was from embassy employee last night."
The sooner this is clarified by the Embassy on their Website the better!
Passport renewals are being consolidated in several countries and apparently ours is to be in Paris.
You can still get it by post but (a) consider how utterly inefficient the postal service here is and (b) how impossibly fussy the new regulations for passports regarding photographs are, this is actually going to be pretty well impossible.
Here are print-screens of the letter.
I have also uploaded the print screens here:
British Embassy passport letter page 1 of 2
British Embassy passport letter page 2 of 2
British Embassy in Cairo Website (Not showing changes as of date of post).
.
UPDATED BRITISH EMBASSY WEBSITE
And I quote:
"The Cost
If you apply for a British passport overseas you can expect to pay:
· For your passport (the fee is the same worldwide).
· The cost of sending your application to us (as you would in the UK)
· For the secure return of your passport and documents.
In the next 6 weeks we will publish instructions on how to submit your application and advice on using local courier services."
This seems to confirm that the INDIVIDUAL will be responsible for dealing with the postal side of things.
I have just been informed tonight (and have been sent a copy of a letter from the British Embassy in Cairo to prove it!) that from 15th APRIL 2010 it will NO LONGER BE POSSIBLE TO RENEW YOUR (FULL VALIDITY) PASSPORT AT THE BRITISH EMBASSY HERE.
AT THE TIME OF WRITING, THIS DOES NOT YET APPEAR ON THE EMBASSY WEBSITE
Update from a source:
"Applications direct to Paris and returned to your overseas address via courier (to be paid for by you of course) if you don't trust the post. Embassy only to get involved in emergencies. This will make it really secure........ go figure.......This was from embassy employee last night."
The sooner this is clarified by the Embassy on their Website the better!
Passport renewals are being consolidated in several countries and apparently ours is to be in Paris.
You can still get it by post but (a) consider how utterly inefficient the postal service here is and (b) how impossibly fussy the new regulations for passports regarding photographs are, this is actually going to be pretty well impossible.
Here are print-screens of the letter.
I have also uploaded the print screens here:
British Embassy passport letter page 1 of 2
British Embassy passport letter page 2 of 2
British Embassy in Cairo Website (Not showing changes as of date of post).
.
Friday, 5 February 2010
Souk El Fustat - Where to go to get quality Egyptian gifts
If you want to get some good quality gifts here in Cairo, then I can highly recommend Souk El Fustat (Souq El-Fustat) which I visited for the first time last Saturday.
Within around 10 minutes walk of Coptic Cairo (Mar Girgiz metro), it has space for about 40-50 small shops selling handicrafts, toiletries, lamps, glassware etc.. There is also a cafe there - we didn't try it this time round, maybe next time!
Another miracle is that there is almost no 'tourist hassle' and shopping here is a very calm experience. (The quid pro quo is that there is little room for bargaining though a couple of my companions did manage to squeeze a little with the help of an Egyptian friend!)
To get there, come out of Mar Girgiz metro station (on the Coptic Museum) side. Turn left and keep walking in a straight line! It's on the right hand side of the road, before the recently refurbished Amr Ibn El-A’as mosque.
One of the shops there provides items made by the Zabbuleen (Garbage Collectors) women (read more about the Hay El Zabbuleen in the second half of my post here: St Simon Tanner. I checked with the shop keeper and he told me that the paper goods are made from recycled paper, but that the cloth goods are made from fabric offcuts from the various factories in Cairo.
Here is a good article on the aims behind the Souk El Fustat.
Link to my google map showing the walking route (give it time to load! There will be a thick blue line on it when it's finished!) - click HERE and get it directly via Google Maps so you can play with it!
View Souq El Fustat and Coptic Cairo in a larger map
Within around 10 minutes walk of Coptic Cairo (Mar Girgiz metro), it has space for about 40-50 small shops selling handicrafts, toiletries, lamps, glassware etc.. There is also a cafe there - we didn't try it this time round, maybe next time!
Another miracle is that there is almost no 'tourist hassle' and shopping here is a very calm experience. (The quid pro quo is that there is little room for bargaining though a couple of my companions did manage to squeeze a little with the help of an Egyptian friend!)
To get there, come out of Mar Girgiz metro station (on the Coptic Museum) side. Turn left and keep walking in a straight line! It's on the right hand side of the road, before the recently refurbished Amr Ibn El-A’as mosque.
One of the shops there provides items made by the Zabbuleen (Garbage Collectors) women (read more about the Hay El Zabbuleen in the second half of my post here: St Simon Tanner. I checked with the shop keeper and he told me that the paper goods are made from recycled paper, but that the cloth goods are made from fabric offcuts from the various factories in Cairo.
Here is a good article on the aims behind the Souk El Fustat.
Link to my google map showing the walking route (give it time to load! There will be a thick blue line on it when it's finished!) - click HERE and get it directly via Google Maps so you can play with it!
View Souq El Fustat and Coptic Cairo in a larger map
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