All Sortsa Extra Photos

Egyptian Relief Carving, Karnak

Various photos from the trip that I never posted from Egypt and Southern India. We're at our respective families' homes now, visiting relatives and relaxing until it's time to head to Washington DC to see our old college friends. It's entirely too cold here, and Taipei-acclimated hothouse orchid that I am, 35 degrees feels like -100 to me. DC is apparently very pleasant and while I'll miss my family, I'm looking forward to warmer climes.

Painting in Karnak

Veggie Shopping in Luxor

Luxor Temple and Old Saint's Tomb

Kathakali in Kerala

Planting Crops in Wayanad

Theyyam in northern Kerala - this was the first guy to invite possession by the gods of this small temple 20km from Kannur

Stones and Sand in Kannur on hte Malabar Coast

Kathakali performance - a female demon captures women for her brother's pleasure

The demon disguised as a beautiful woman tries to seduce a warrior (the dude in green)

Makeup for Kathakali

Cochin Fisherman and his net

Feeding the Pigeons at the Jain Temple

Window in "Jew Town" (hey I didn't choose the name)

Cochin Harbor

God Heads at an Antique Store

Syrian Christian Advertising, Cochin

In India, Nothing is so Special as the Relationship Between a Man and His Bike

The Malayalis are big on democratically-elected Communist governments.

1100-year old Moppila Muslim mosque, Calicut

Sunset in Cochin

Tribal Matriarch, Wayanad, Kerala

Shiva Nataraj, Elephanta Island, Mumbai

Coptic Christian relief in Cairo

Gods and Stuff on Trees

Cairo Pot

Tiny Lamps Light Up the Night, in Ernakulam, Kerala

Sunset on the Nile, Aswan

Tea pots, Cairo

Gateway to the Khan el-Khalili

Lamps in a Mosque, Cairo

Man Making Wall Hangings, Cairo (formerly Tent-makers Street)

Lamps and pots in Luxor

Huge Columns of Karnak, Luxor

Karnak

Giant Broken Obelisk, Karnak

Gateway of Ramses II, Karnak

The Deserts of Nubia, Aswan

Aswan Souq

Ruins of Abu, Elephantine Island, Aswan

Medieval Cairo and Aswan

Kids in Aswan

Dried hibiscus for karkadeh - a local cool drink

Backstreets of Aswan

The Nile at Aswan

Nubian guy selling baskets in Aswan.

...I'll have to adjust that one so it's not skewed. Felucca boat on the Nile at sunset.

...but in this one, the building is skewed, not the photo.

Local woman shopping in the Khan el-Khalili


Skyline of Islamic Cairo

In An Antique Land

A few miscellaneous notes on Egypt:

I never realized there were so many ways to wear hijab (Muslim women's attire including a headscarf). Although many women in Cairo dress Western-style, the vast majority still cover their hair, and burqas are not uncommon, among young women and old.

However, there is a distinct undercurrent of Muslim women's fashion of which Westerners are mostly unaware. Rastafarian headscarves, denim mermaid-flare skirts, curve-hugging black rib turtlenecks and intricate embroidery are just some of the options available to traditional-minded women in Egypt. Some other ensembles I've seen include:

- purple heather tunic with patchwork purple, blue and white hippie skirt, complementary patterned headscarf and lots of chunky turquoise necklaces and low-slung belts
- gray pencil skirt with black leather boots to cover legs, black ribbed top and headscarf with black sunglasses
- tailored black pants with white blouse and headscarf, red lipstick and black-and-white houndstooth scarf - very Chanel!
- tiger-print French-cut pants with black tunic and gold coin belt with zebra-print scarf
- long denim skirt with rose colored top and white cotton scarf tied up African-style

All in all, Cairene women really know how to dress, and still keep with the tenets of their religion. Nevermind that I don't agree with their religion; it's great that they can incorporate their beliefs into the modern world.

I am also continuously amazed by what people will say to convince you to buy their goods or services. At the pillared hall in Saqqara, a would-be guide chased after us and when we declined to use his services, he shouted down the hall - "But I am not a guide; I am a tribal chief!" Riiight.

Another man "swore to his God in heaven" that the fair price for some cheap bellydancing armband that I bought as a small gift for someone was US $40 (about 180 Egyptian pounds) - pointing to the "fine handwork" and "high-quality gold plate". Nevermind the "Made in China" stamp, eh?

A tout in the Khan el-Khalili (huge tourist bazaar but also frequented by locals) came up to us and said "Hey, I am not sketchy dude. I just want to be BFF with my American friends. You want to come my papyrus shop?" Impressed with the colloquial English as we were...no thanks.

We also enjoyed the various signs around tourist sites. As you drive up to the Pyramids, you'll pass King Tut House of Perfumes, Cleopatra Nefertiti Restaurant, Sphinx Papyrus Institute (not to be confused with Sphinx School of Papyrus - both of which are souvenir shops) and a few others that we passed around Dahshur and later, in Aswan:


...just in case you wanted to buy something from Che Guevara while in Egypt.


...a simple spelling error, but still. Louts flower?


...not the best name for a camel safari business.

And of course, product differentiation is alive and well in Egypt. It's always important to make your product stand out with a unique name, logo and market niche. Copycats never survive, because they don't have a distinct image to set them apart. Hence:

Another thing I love about Egypt is the prevalence of cats. I am not sure why; Brendan remembers reading somewhere that Mohammed thought dogs were unclean but he liked cats, so cats are generally liked in Islamic cultures. I read as a kid that cats were sacred in ancient Egypt. Neither of us are sure how true these things are, but it can't be denied that Cairo is teeming with well-fed, tame and generally clean street cats. Being a cat lovers (we like dogs too!), this is wonderful, especially compared to the sad and often hungry cats of Taiwan.