Yes, "Aaaah" indeed. What a load of softies so many of you turn out to be when you're shown a young animal.
She's a lovely colour, and that's from someone who's colour-blind, remember? At about a twelve-month old, this is her first trip out alongside a big caleshe horse. We were surprised at just how docile she seemed; young'uns new to the caleche and the traffic can sometimes be a bit overwhelmed, and consequently rather skittery, but this one handled herself admirably!
Sadly, like in all the horses in Luxor at the moment (that's those that haven't actually starved to death yet!) you could count her ribs if you wanted to. Nevertheless, she's OK and belongs to a loving family. Perhaps Ahmed is being extra careful with her feeding so that she'll match her namesake in the skinny-jumper stakes when they meet in December? But, for the moment, "Annabelle" seems to be quite happy with her lot.
I don't know whether I'm at all happy with my (our) lot, though? I'm on the mend, tummy-wise, thank heaven, but becoming increasingly bored!
The plan was that we'd get a good bit of walking in, to strengthen the veins in my stupid legs, and to try and alleviate some of the arthritic problems from which we are both suffering. But.....the temperatures have still been around the stupid degree mark, even today! And, when we do venture out, we're stopped by every Tom Dick and Hamed wanting to know (from the white "Oracle" of course) when are the tourists coming back?
I told one flabbergasted bloke today in the Savoy Bazaar, "Five years! Why would anyone want to come here, the crazy Muslims are killing people everywhere you look, burning churches and rioting at the drop of a hat!" He was quite astonished at my tirade, I can tell you! "But, Mr Edward, you haven't seen this in Luxor?", he looked bereft and pleading. I put my arms around him, "I know that's not Luxor, you know it's not Luxor, but the rest of the world see the murdering crazys in Nairobi and imagine it to be in Luxor if they came here for a holiday, nobody wants to come here any more!" "But the regulars will be back?" "Yes, but they cannot spend enough to save everyone, can they?"
The more I think about the intractableness of the desperate situation here in Luxor, the more that I too think "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Sadly, like in all the horses in Luxor at the moment (that's those that haven't actually starved to death yet!) you could count her ribs if you wanted to. Nevertheless, she's OK and belongs to a loving family. Perhaps Ahmed is being extra careful with her feeding so that she'll match her namesake in the skinny-jumper stakes when they meet in December? But, for the moment, "Annabelle" seems to be quite happy with her lot.
I don't know whether I'm at all happy with my (our) lot, though? I'm on the mend, tummy-wise, thank heaven, but becoming increasingly bored!
The plan was that we'd get a good bit of walking in, to strengthen the veins in my stupid legs, and to try and alleviate some of the arthritic problems from which we are both suffering. But.....the temperatures have still been around the stupid degree mark, even today! And, when we do venture out, we're stopped by every Tom Dick and Hamed wanting to know (from the white "Oracle" of course) when are the tourists coming back?
I told one flabbergasted bloke today in the Savoy Bazaar, "Five years! Why would anyone want to come here, the crazy Muslims are killing people everywhere you look, burning churches and rioting at the drop of a hat!" He was quite astonished at my tirade, I can tell you! "But, Mr Edward, you haven't seen this in Luxor?", he looked bereft and pleading. I put my arms around him, "I know that's not Luxor, you know it's not Luxor, but the rest of the world see the murdering crazys in Nairobi and imagine it to be in Luxor if they came here for a holiday, nobody wants to come here any more!" "But the regulars will be back?" "Yes, but they cannot spend enough to save everyone, can they?"
The more I think about the intractableness of the desperate situation here in Luxor, the more that I too think "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
I am so excited, I believe I have my very own horse named after me! She is a lovely colour, and such a thick mane of hair. We would call her a bright bay, and not many of those in Luxor. Bless Ahmed, I am very touched, and can't wait to see her in December, and his family.
ReplyDeleteThank you Edward for updating us on Ahmed's caleche horses. They feature now and then, and being a horse lover, really appreciate the updates, especially during these difficult times.
As for the skinny jumper stakes - I have alot to do to match how many ribs she is showing! Mine are in there somewhere, but with alot of padding to protect them.
If only coming back to Luxor was so simple. With insurance a little difficult to attain, the FCO advice that it is still unsafe to travel, and so few flights in the pipeline, only the regulars will be coming for a little while.
Really sad to hear that one of the favourite haunts of many - Puddleducks has closed down, I hear they are off to Hurghada. I know on our last visit managed to get a few people out of the hotel to try the local restaurants, and one couple enjoyed Puddleducks so much they encouraged others out of the hotel to explore the delights of Luxor in the evening.
I wish everyone the best, will count the weeks before we can come to Luxor.
Keep on blogging, love reading them and keeps us in touch with our favourite place and the lovely Egyptian people.
That horse looks about my wieght now .Nice work keeping us informed on Luxor roll on next year .x
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