I had a queer sort of day today! Got out of bed at about 10 (again), and by the time I'd had breakfast and got ready; Rashad (the cleaner) was ringing on the doorbell. Freda put together his 'packed lunch' and pay, as I finished off getting dressed. After getting rid of him I did a little local shopping and struggled back up the stairs.
With the dishes washed, and the little chores all done, I suddenly got the urge to finish off filling up of the holes in the walls on the stairs, which the A/C men had left. Of course, by now the sun was just starting to shine into the stairwell, but it probably wasn't more than about 42 or something, so that was OK! They're all done now, but 'Houston, we have a problem'. The two colours of paint on the stairs were mixed by the painters, and there's as much chance of matching them again as the man in the moon!!!!! Never mind, that's a problem for another day. A shower and a snooze seemed more important just then.
After waking, I had another urge! This time it was for scrambled eggs on toast. With that particular lust satisfied, it was time to venture out into the world which is Luxor. Nile Palace tonight. When we got there, who should we find but ElizabethH55 and Magpie Linda (both TA contributors), so we sat with them and called all the other TA contributors under the sun! For about an hour or so, before it got boring, lol.
Anyway, after just about spending the electricity money on tea and Nescafe, we all decided that it would be a treat for Linda to see the stick fighting. We had intended to take her on the local bus, but it was very noisy outside the Nile Palace as there was a wedding going on, and we had waited ages (about 5 minutes actually) for a bus and they were all full. so we decided to take the offer of Oscar's taxi.
When we got back home, I managed to get Linda a good place at the very front of the crowd, so that she could have a good view of the stick fighting, but no-one would give up their seat for her or Freda. I was a bit peeved at that, I've got to admit! ElizabethH55 and I just hovered at the back for a while. We then had some Egyptian tea in Adam's Coffee Shop, which was quite busy with visitors to the stick fighting as well as some of the locals.
I must have had a premonition this afternoon, because after visiting the Coffee Shop, we came upstairs to our flat. If I hadn't finished my work and shifted the tools and rubbish, they would never have got up the stairs! Mind you; those two can talk! I don't think the conversation flagged once before they took their leave at about a quarter past midnight. I walked down to the Emilio with them to find a taxi to whisk them back to the 'Meridien'. ElizabethH55 couldn't resist a kilo of Turkish Delight from Ahmed's stall at the entrance to the Egyptian Souk, even though she had to give him 15le for it. (He'd started off at 20le!!!) He gave me a bit to sample, and I've got to say that it was very nice
By the time I'd called at the other Ahmed's for 4 bottles of water (he talked me into taking 5, to save him having to give me change out of my tenner) and speaking to our neighbour Radwan, I couldn't be bothered to get any more pics of the stick fighting, sorry. It's now 02.18, and they are still at it, I can hear the drums and bugles! That must be nearly 12 hours that the band have been playing, with time off only for their prayers and the odd slurp of water, sooner them than me
Talking of Radwan, I was telling him about English Stick dancing, and how very different it was to that which he knows here in Luxor. I found some on You Tube and gave him the link, here it is
It's the Upton-on-Severn Stick Dance, do you think he'll enjoy it? I hope so, and I hope you can enjoy it too.
Hi Edward & Freda, please keep up the good work with the blog, really brings Luxor alive for those of us watching current events from afar and hoping that tourism and the economy pick up very soon.
ReplyDeleteNot many blogs combine philosophy, stick fighting and scrambled eggs in a single post .. I can count them on the fingers of a single digit .. but then it's worth all the little diversions for the insider nuggets that reveal the quirky, earthy and sometimes infuriating world that we tourists can only glimpse briefly in a 'flying visit'.