Soccer Champs--a celebration extraordinaire

CELEBRATION

Here are soccer fans Larry Nilsson, left, and my husband, Jack, on the right. They are watching the first play-off soccer match between Algeria and Egypt, for the African Cup of Nations Championship.

Fans painted these two and got them in the spirit of the game. Egypt played Algeria this game. Algeria and Egypt enjoy a heated rivalry, often resulting in one or the other's embassador being recalled. To say that spirits ran high would be an understatement!

Fans were in rare form. They brought their own noise makers and high spirits.

Egypt scored! (Can you tell??) They won!! On to the African Cup of Nations championship game against Ghana!!!

EGYPT WINS THE AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! The streets were packed with fans celebrating .

Fans improvised flares using aerosol cans of automotive starting fluid and lighters.

Television camers were there to record the festivities. There was singing in the streets, dancing in the intersections, lots of flag waving and general good fun as fans celebrated this phenomenal win. No one believed that Egypt could pull this off, yet all were hopeful. And when it finally came to pass, they were estatic.

Jack and I noticed that the crowds were very civil, even polite. There were no cars set on fire, no vandalism, no rowdy drunken brawls. People were out to celebrate Egypt's Championship. They were not out to destroy their city. For six hours the fans had a wonderful time. Yes, they left lots of litter in the streets, but that was all. And yes, there was noise all night long, so sleep came very late, or early, depending on your point of view. But Egypt had something to celebrate and celebrate they did! And so did we.

Ain Soukhna on the Gulf of Suez

Last weekend we went to Ain Soukhna, a resort area on the Gulf of Suez, which is part of the Red Sea. We stayed at the Palmera Resort, an older, but pleasant all inclusive resort. Friday was a beautiful, sunny, windless day. Jack captured this picture on our way to breakfast. Not a ripple on the swimming pool.

We sat on the beach along with all the other Egyptians at the resort for a little rest and relaxation. I began knitting a sweater, and Jack read. It was a very pleasant day. In the evening we went into a pavillion area after dinner to watch Egypt win a very important soccer match that was part of a play-off series for the African Cup of Nations.

Everybody was out enjoying the balmy, delightful weather. Kids were swimming as their parents watched.
But it was not to last.

During the night the weather changed from the balmy and beautiful, to stormy. The waves kicked up and built. The next day was dull and blustry. It was a 180 degree difference from the day before. There would be no lounging on the beach this day. The beach was underwater.

After the storm we walked down to the sea front to see what damage had been done by the high wind and waves. We found these. GRENADES! (or whatever they are called) Washed up on the shore.

At the height of the storm the water came well up the beach and did damage to the resort's beach area.

You can see how high the water came. This storm was the day after the full moon when the tides are at the highest for the month. Combine high tides with wind and you have the makings for damage to the seafront and beach erosion.

These pictures do not do justice to the amount of water coming up the beach or the height of the waves. We suspected that at the height of the storm the waves averaged about 5 feet as they came onto the shore, and the winds built to about 30-35 mph., gusting to, maybe, 40 mph. It was enough to move you backwards when you stood still.

It was a wild storm, that the locals said happens about once a year. It was fun to be there and see how churned up the sea can get. It reminded me of my summers on Lake Michigan when the waves crashed ashore like that and you went out afterwards beachcombing. No bombs, though.

Shisha Smoking

This is a hooka. It is a water pipe that is used for smoking shisha. Shisha smoking is a favorite pastime all over Cairo. There are shisha places everywhere. Many restaurants offer shisha for after-meal relaxing.

The tobacco is placed in a clay cup at the top of the pipe, then covered with aluminum foil punched with holes. Hot charcoal is placed on top of this -- just a few very hot pieces. When you draw on the pipe it lowers the pressure in the water chamber and the hot tobacco smoke is then cooled as it passes through the water, then through the long pipe to the mouthpiece. (You purchase a new mouthpiece each time--they are cheap.) The attendant comes around periodically to renew the hot charcoal.

There are many flavors of tobacco commonly used here. The one I smell the most often as I walk by, is the apple flavored, but there is mint, and watermelon, among others.

These men are enjoying shisha after their meal. You can see lots of shisha pipes if you look carefully.

Shisha pipes are for sale. Almost nobody smokes shisha at home when it is so easy and cheap to smoke in a shisha place. These pipes are not very hardy so they need replacing often. They are glass and they break. The tubes and pipes wear out.

One of the small charcoal fires going in a pan on the street getting ready for use in the shisha pipe.

An attendant bringing around the shisha to customers. You can see the few bits of charcoal in the top. See the little clay pot the tobacco goes in and the charcoal on top. This charcoal has cooled a bit, and needs renewing.

Shisha is not for men only. Women enjoy shisha as well. Often in restaurants you see couples smoking shisha, as well as groups of women smoking.

I haven't tried it yet. I quit smoking over 20 years ago and just can't bring myself to try this stuff. It isn't something that appeals to me. But millions of Cairenes love it.