Letters from Sri Lanka - Neon Buddha

Sri Lanka Photo Album

Just before coming into Sri Lanka I was able to set up volunteer work on Workaway with a family-owned hotel in Tissaramahama near the southeast coast. That was the only thing I did to prepare for Sri Lanka - I was ready to be surprised about the country would offer.

I landed at the international airport near Colombo & then began a very long journey to Tissa by bus. The first thing I learned about Sri Lanka is that they love to surround images of Buddha with colorful, flashing neon lights. I noted this on my first bus ride - there was a lovely image of Buddha sitting in a preaching pose surrounded by… flashing lights! The Sri Lankans have a particular flair for dressing up Buddhist (& even Christian) images and temples; more lights, more gilding, more color, more…everything. The second thing I learned about Sri Lanka is that the bus drivers are crazy!!

The bus route to Tissa was along the coast - terrific! I got to see the lovely beaches on one side & the beautiful palms & tropical foliage on the other. But yikes! The 2-lane road passes through almost a continuous stream of small towns and all the buses, cars, & motorbikes honk their horns incessantly!  The buses come barreling through towns & if not honking & passing constantly, they are stopping abruptly to avoid collisions. Seven exhausting hours of this later - I arrived at the sweet little town of Tissa that would be my home for the next week. I had a week of small town life and no buses!

I had accepted the volunteer position of being a housekeeper in a 7-room hotel with some trepidation. I have had such great Workaway experiences in the other inns & hostels that I thought I should get a feel for other hotel jobs. I knew it would be risky for me - cleaning rooms? - but I figured it would be an eye-opening experience & a chance to experience some, uhhhh, humility!  The host family is lovely - a 30-something married couple with 13 & 10 year old sons - all very sweet. Early the next day I found myself being trained to clean the rooms. Now really, I am a good housekeeper, I am organized, efficient, & can tell what is clean & not clean. Well - apparently not so much! Asanka, the wife, & Kapila, the husband have very specific instructions on how to do everything & eagle eyes that catch every water spot or bit of dust I left behind. I cleaned, then they inspected, & …I cleaned again!  Humility yes - but that only lasts a day or two. Their expectations were totally fine though - who would not want the most clean, tidy, water spot free hotel room. I never faulted them for their expectations - I just had to tame my own dang self to accept their perfection. I think the real challenge was the heat & humidity - that would challenge any northerner.

In truth the job overall was a good one & taught me yet another side of hotel work. I started work around 7am but finished by 11am and in between Asanka served me delicious chai (sweet milk tea) and a curry breakfast. Well she did add on more jobs - cleaning the office & patio - but heck I am here to work.  Asanka is a great cook &amp

; I loved the meals (breakfast, lunch, & dinner) she prepared for me. I usually ate with her & sometimes the kids in their home above the hotel. After work I was free to explore the town & surrounding area & before I left they gave me a discounted safari in the Yala National Park to see the resident leopards, elephants, and loads of peacocks.  Tissa is lovely little town with a

large lake, several beautiful ancient Buddhist stupas, & it's surrounded by rice paddies. I also found plenty of time to chat with travelers passing through. In the evenings I helped Asanka & Kapila with their online booking applications; we managed to update & improve the content in their Booking.com & TripAdvisor pages & they were very happy about that.  After 5-days of work & 2-days off I fulfilled my work agreement & was ready to start exploring Sri Lanka. And, oh by the way, I don't think I'll be looking for anymore hotel housekeeping jobs for a while, maybe there is another way to learn some humility!

Fortunately, decent bus & train services make Sri Lanka a very easy & safe country for independent travel on public transportation. The island is fairly large and has a variety of regions and lots of coast to explore. The coastline is extensive & most of it can be reached easily but I decided to focus my remaining 3 weeks in the central area, mostly in the cooler highlands. Traveling through the tea plantation districts in central Sri Lanka was definitely a highlight. There are vast stretches of tea plantations & rice paddies that are managed by hand - planting, fertilizing, & harvesting. The vistas are beautiful & it's easy to hike along the paths that border the fields. Sri Lanka is very picturesque - flowers, forests, fruits & plantations, homes & Buddhist stupas tucked among the foliage & little villages hug the rail lines & roads. The pace is mellow & seems unhurried but there are still signs of busy work & productivity. Harvesting fruit & vegetables, drying coffee, fishing, & selling products along the road & in town. Tourism is helping the economy & finding a tour offering or independent guide is easy - for me, when needed, it was easy enough to hire a tuk-tuk driver to take me to local sites.

Although the temperate zone of Ella, highlands rich in tea plantations & incredible landscape rich with forests, fruit trees, & palms, was the most scenic area I visited, it was the Buddhist cave temple of Dambulla farther north in the more tropical lowlands that was the most impressive & my favorite site to visit. The caves that make up this World Heritage Site were originally used as a monastery in the 2nd & 3rd century BC; they were transformed into a temple sometime during the 1st century BC.  A series of 5 contiguous chambers sit deeply in the underside of a natural rock that rises 500 feet over the valley below. Over 80 holy caves are scattered across this small mount.  Along the long steep walk up to the rocks is the modern (1990's) Golden Buddha, a 100 foot gold-plated statue of the Buddha in a sitting pose with his hands in the dharmachakra mudra (a pose that represents the teaching of the wheel of Dharma) serenely looking out over the plains below. Except for being incredibly over-the-top big & gold; this statue does creates a peaceful mood & certainly is an easy landmark - you can't miss getting to the caves if you can see this Buddha.

I found the cave complex to be really magical. Arriving very early, I walked through the chambers without crowds so that I had plenty of time to take in the stillness & aura created by Sri Lankan artwork. Each cave is filled with dozens & dozens of statues of the Buddha; most are identical though varying in height to accommodate the slope of the cave walls; a few vary by depicting different mudras (hand poses depicting a spiritual state: compassion, teaching, grounding). The ceilings are covered with thousands of repeating images of the Buddha - it made me think that both the painting & the viewing of these images was a form of mantra or chant. There is just something so simple & peaceful about the caves; it's apparent a great deal of devotion was present in the building of the temple. I spent several hours at the site - enough time to walk through caves a second time & then sit & watch people come struggling up the hill & then easing into the quiet setting as they wandered through the caves. The site is a pilgrimage for Sri Lankan Buddhists, so people of all ages & abilities make their way up the trail to the caves.

From Dambulla I travelled on by more crazy buses to a suburb of the capital of Colombo where I spent my last few days on the west coast beach. I suited up for couple of scuba dives with other foreigners  we were fortunate to find  only moderately bleached coral (bleaching occurs when prolonged warm water kills the colorful algae that cover & feed the coral, the coral appears white & will eventually die if the water temps stay high). I spotted some new-to-me species of fish, not too many unfortunately but colorful & interesting. The last few days were pleasant & lazy; walking along the beach & enjoying the sunsets.

In all the areas I visited I found the Sri Lankans to be

exceptionally friendly & helpful, but very independent; they are not keen on being compared to Indiana. From my outsider perspective they seem to have an easy & natural balance to daily life. Family is of course the priority, so it's common to see extended families living & socializing together. The cities & towns are fairly well developed & there is a feeling of comfort & prosperity. I could see that the Sri Lankans keep busy with work & productivity - but at a relaxed pace. People take the time to stop & have tea & a snack with friends during the day, there were always plenty of people taking walks & having picnics along the lakes or parks. I even ran into groups of people who

would travel as a small group to visit a park, jumping out when the spirit moved them to turn up the radio & dance! And, especially endearing, was seeing families & friends gathering at a canal, river, or lake to soap up & bathe (modestly covered!). That was an especially common sight in the late afternoons in Tissa where the weather is warm. The waterways could be filled with people taking a bath right outside.  That was also a great opportunity for roadside food vendors to offer tea, fried treats & amazingly delicious buffalo yogurt for a snack.

I have a wonderful last memory of Sri Lanka as I was heading for the airport on my last day. I took the train from the suburb into Colombo - jumping on at a small station. It was just before dusk & we stopped at many villages along the way picking up people who were on their way to the capital for an evening of pre-New Year celebrations.  Our train passed along the beach where the tracks ran; with windows & doors open, the people, silhouetted against the beach, settled silently into the ride, the breeze, & the setting sun. It seemed that they could simply enjoy the train's rocking & the quiet stillness of an evening at home in Sri Lanka.

Letters from Egypt, Jordan & Israel - Desert Treasures

Egypt - The Pyramids of Cairo

 Egypt Photo Album

Well - I actually did make it to Cairo, fast & furious - never sleeping Cairo!  The traffic is full tilt 24 hours a day but absolutely bumper to bumper during peak hours. I was still struggling with my fears of crossing the streets and would typically shamelessly shadow any man, woman, or child who was crossing the street. And, if solo, I sometimes would even take the long way just to avoid having to cross a street.

My hotel was just around the block from the national archeology museum so that was my first stop and I did not have to risk getting killed to get there. The museum is of course what you would imagine in terms of the age & volume of important ancient Egyptian art & treasures.  It was so much better than the reviews I had read that complained about poor organization and labeling. The building is huge and is well organized, the ground floor by era & the top floor by ruler. The King Tutankhamun display is really impressive and yes - I really did get to see his gold & jeweled burial mask. Except for King Tut's mummy, which is still sleeping in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor, there are so many artifacts from Tut's tomb  that you really get a feel for the life of the privileged in ancient Egypt in the early-mid 1300s BC.  I was glad that I had seen so many of the important tombs & palaces in Luxor before coming to the museum as I actually had some basic knowledge of the era's & rulers of the new kingdom.

I ended up meeting a professional, bona fide guide while trying to cross some complicated streets while walking about Cairo. An older gentleman offered to help me… now I know that is usually the way the touts find vulnerable tourists but this fellow, Rashida, was really genuine.  He ended up telling me about his business but asked that I look at this web site and reviews before making any judgments. His personally guided tours of the pyramids were a much better deal than what was being offered at the hotel. Best of all - he would take me to see not just the Giza pyramid complex, the big 3 (Cheops, Khafre, & Menakaure) & the Sphinx, we are so used to seeing in travel photographs, but he would take me outside the city to see the  earliest pyramids of the old and middle kingdoms. Once he picked me up he gave me a pad and pen so that I could take notes - like a historian he pumped me full of dates, names, and places of the ancient Egyptians throughout the day. 

Did you know there is a Bent Pyramid of Dashur?  This design signified an important transition in the evolution of the now classic triangle shape we are most familiar with. The ancients were learning from design & structural flaws as early as 2,600 BC.

One of the sad realities of the world is the sporadic terrorist attacks that take place. After leaving Cairo I found out that one of the Coptic Christian churches in old Cairo that I had spent some pleasant quite time in -just to chill out - was bombed a few days after my visit. It is was fairly empty when I visited but in order to make a spectacle the terrorists chose a time when parishioners fill the church.

I left Cairo on a night bus headed to the Sinai - one that would take me all along the coast of the Red Sea's Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba & up to the small charming beach town of Dahab. The sea is beautiful there and the town takes advantage of good diving and great fishing by offering lots of quaint inns & beach side restaurants.  But I had my sights on reaching Jordan so after a short stay & continued on up the coast by bus to a port and then by ferry on to Jordan. I teamed up with a couple of 20-something Japanese to share a taxi to Petra and so enter the highlands and cold temperatures that I had not experienced for a long, long time.

Jordan - Sandstone Tombs, Temples, and Treasury

Jordan Photo Album

Petra is an absolutely amazing spectacle of landscape, rock, & architecture created by the nomadic Nabataeans over 300 years BC.  Though nomadic, the Nabataeans developed incredible skill in sculpting whole cities of sandstone rock & creating highly efficient canals for distributing water. Petra was able to flourish under this tribe.  

The shuttle from my hostel dropped our little group off just as the site was opening so we were the first to enter the deep slot canyon entrance to the tombs, temples, & palaces.  A cold, crisp, totally enchanting walk through canyon in no way prepares one for the first site - absolutely stunning. It's impossible to really describe the incredible workmanship & beauty of the structures carved right out of/in to the colorful sandstone cliffs. The site is immense & I was able to wander totally alone to the very end taking in the views as I climbed up & up to a vast vista point over the Wadi Araba. 

At the tip top of one of the last cliffs is a tent shop of sorts - the Bedouin who sits there offers tea but no expectation to buy anything. Of course I had to sit & drink tea, 3 cups of tea, as we shared stories about life & adventure.

Coming back down off the cliff I could see that visitors were now beginning to arrive so I stopped for a cup of Turkish coffee & to chat with a fellow from Pittsburg, California!  This fellow is on a quest to see the 7 "new" manmade wonders of the world & Petra was his latest conquest. Not knowing what these new 7 were - I had to google to find the list included: Petra-Jordan, Machu Pichu-Peru, Great Wall of China, Chichen Itza -Mexico, Christ the Redeemer-Rio Brazil, Colosseum-Rome Italy, & the Taj Mahal-India. The Great Pyramid of Giza holds an honorary 8th spot - it is the only one of the original 7 wonders still standing.  Turns out, with Petra, I have now seen all 8! The first, Machu Pichu, I saw in 1973 when I was 20 years old. It has only taken me 44 years to see them all!

From Petra I traveled on to Amman, the capital of Jordan from I had planned to just hop over the border to visit Jerusalem. Silly me, it was not so easy for a variety of reasons but I was able to jump over lots of hoops and made my way into Jerusalem for a short visit. It was cold & damp!! 

Israel - A Day in Old Jerusalem 

Israel Photo Album

I spent all of one day wandering around the narrow winding streets of Old Jerusalem - trying to remember what I could of actual history & Bible stories. I was surprised to see that Old Jerusalem is probably much like it was during the time of Christ in that it is a busy town with shops & vendors & bakeries & cafes & markets all competing for space as much as it is a busy neighborhood with kids playing or heading to/from school, residents visiting neighbors & shopping & just living their lives.

For some silly reason I was imagining something more like Petra where the historical buildings sit empty & quietly while tourists come to marvel at what once was. Old Jerusalem is charged up & hectic!

Motorbikes, carts, & all forms of devout & clergy navigating among neighbors & vendors & tourists. Example - the stations of the cross are well marked…in between vendor stalls! Ok- it's kind of a mad house! The Christian, Muslim, & Jewish sectors each have their own style.

The Christian area is the most chaotic & commercial with souvenir & candy shops everywhere. The Jewish section is very refined - museums, art galleries, fine craft & expensive jewelry shops, interspersed with good cafés. I did not get a chance to see the Muslim sector as it was Muhammad's birthday & open only to those coming to pray. The historical highlight for me was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher as under one cathedral are the sites where Jesus was reported to have been crucified, cleansed after death, & then entombed (all within a fairly compact space). Though the faithful are mixed in with the curious - it is impressive to see how meaningful these sites are to the devout.

My trip back to Amman, Jordan was not so easy is my arrival - I'll spare the details - as I had to exit Israel through a border several hours to the north rather than the one I had entered. However, the few buses that I took to get back allowed me to see a little more of Israel. The intense contrast of the desert juxtaposed to agricultural areas is impressive. The Israeli's sure have some impressive water management & greenhouse systems to enable the rich farm lands that produce tons of tomatoes, eggplants, date palms, & on & on.

It was a little relief to come back to Amman - the downtown area where I stayed is small but fun. Lots of shops, people on the streets, cafes, & restaurants. At night, people come out into the streets to stroll. It seemed to be a favorite activity to buy some of the delicious Jordanian sweets & stroll around while eating from paper plates. The food is really delicious and eating out in local restaurants - trying to figure out how to manage the plates - was a great experience.

Though I probably had one too many falafels during my stay in Egypt, Jordan, & Israel - all in all I had a wonderful experience in these Arab countries & I can highly recommend travel here. The people are kind & friendly to foreigners & I was never made to feel anything but welcome. Sometimes people would express their disfavor of the US government but I never heard anything but respect for the people of the USA (well I should say most people who talked about politics expressed disbelief & dismay that Trump won the election & that's still hard to explain!).

But now it's time to leave this cold weather and so I turn my sights eastward. Hmmm, where shall I go? Ahhh… Sri Lanka looks interesting!

Letters from Egypt - Walk Like an Egyptian

From the sands of the Sahara & banks of the Nile

Egypt Photo Album

My flight to Egypt took me first to Cairo and then after a long lay-over on to Luxor where I had arranged another Workaway volunteer assignment at the Bob Marley Peace/Boomerang Hotel.  What a change in absolutely everything!! The lush greenery of Uganda with moderate climate & the familiarity of the more southern African nations gave way to the hot, dry desert and the Egyptian & Arab culture. But - it was comfortable & exciting in its own way.

I became totally immersed in life at the hotel where my

Mansoor, Amr, Sala, & Linda from Scotland

volunteer assignment (for room & board) was fully devoted to the reception tasks of managing the reservation requests coming from emails or booking websites such as booking.com & hostalworld.com as well as the hotel's own websites. It was really a challenge to come in to a place that, though functioning perfectly well on its own, seemed convoluted to someone like me who, I suppose, prefers tighter organization and structure in the workplace.  But, I kept my calm and it was fun; my days were filled with meeting travelers from all over the world and working with the Egyptian staff who were always so kind to me.  Over time I went on just about all of the local tours & explored the sites of Luxor and then, with firsthand experience, I was able to help new hotel guests plan their own tours. It was great work & helped me feel a part of the local community in my own small way.

My Luxor Neighborhood

Neighborhood

Luxor is a busy city but not too big. Its super easy & safe to walk around at just about any time of day or night. The traffic is a bit crazy and sure the vendors in the bazaar are aggressive but the city is vibrant & never dull - kids running here and there, women shopping for eggplant & pomegranates, men smoking shisha & playing Backgammon in the local tea cafés (no alcohol here!), falafel vendors & bakers peddling their wares on every street, and of course the constant barrage of the horse cart drivers, "Only 5 pounds, Only 5 pounds".  It comes to life as the hot afternoon sun wanes & a light breeze from the River Nile begins to cool the city.  No matter where you are you are within range of the competing carriage drivers and shop vendors.

Hot Air Balloon over Valley of the Kings & Nile 

Desert of the West Bank & Fertile Nile Riverbank

Tourism fell to pretty to almost zero after the 2011 Revolution, as many Egyptians call the military coup prompted by millions protesting in Cairo to oust Morsi. The recovery has been extremely slow and an area like Luxor is hit particularly badly since they have relied on tourism to the historical sites for so long. Hardy tourists are now trickling in but most of the once-packed tombs & temples are still a breeze to visit - no crowds, no lines, plenty of tour offers.  The government is still struggling and there is a lot of frustration that the recovery is too slow. When I arrived on the first of November the exchange was $1USD=8LE (Egyptian Pounds). Trading for dollars on the black market at double this rate was the norm. To stabilize the economy, the official rate was changed about a week later and now fluctuates around $1USD=16LE.

Luxor seems to be the hub for travelers wanting to see the major historical sites within town. I lived on the East Bank of the Nile River and just a 15-minute walk from the Luxor Temple and a 15-minute mini-bus ride from the Karnack Temple.  On the West Bank of the Nile, just a short drive from the city center, are many tombs and temples. The first historical site I visited in Egypt was Medinet Habu, the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III, and that first site makes a huge impression - it was hard to believe I was actually in Egypt seeing such an ancient temple. The architecture and craftsmanship is so impressive and so much more beautiful and immense than I expected. Also on the West Bank is the Valley of the Kings, where for over 500 years (1539 BC to 1075 BC) the great pharaoh's tombs, such as the various Ramesses & Tutankhamun, were dug deep into the limestone mountains. Sometimes the tomb tunnels were so deep and tortuous that new when new tombs were dug their tunnels collided with older tombs. Only a few tombs are open at any given time to reduce exposure. 

The amazing thing about all the historical sites is how rich they are with hieroglyphics and reliefs, wall to wall, floor to ceiling, and rising up from top to bottom of immense pillars. They all seem to share the same highly structured and consistent style - as if not much changed in religious symbols such as the ankh, the key of life & the lotus symbol of love; and depictions of the gods, Horus, Isis, Osiris, over the 2-3,000 years of the pharaoh's rule. Even the clothes seem to remain the same over the hundreds and hundreds of years.

Felluca ride on the Nile, Aswan

Abu Simbel Temple, near border of Sudan, Nile River

Abu Simbel, Ramesses with Horus

Nubian Village, Aswan

Karnak Temple, East Bank Luxor

King Tut - Karnak Temple, East Bank Luxor

Karnak Temple

Luxor Temple, East Bank Luxor

I can go and on about all the temples and tombs - I think I 

Abu Simbel & reconstructed mountain

saw all the most significant ones from just north of Luxor all way down to Aswan but I will spare you. Well except for Abu Simbel which is just 25 miles (40KM) from the border of Sudan. You may remember that this huge temple in honor of Ramesses II and the smaller temple for his wife Nefertari next to it, carved into the side of a mountain along the Nile, were going to be flooded by the Aswan High Dam to create Lake Nasser.  The entire temple complex was removed from the mountain and in a race against time was moved uphill into a new artificial hill piece by piece. Both the engineering effort and the tombs are awesome. It is quite a journey to get out to Abu Simbel - tourists are picked up from their hotels as 3:30am and then the transport vans meet up to create a caravan to make the 3-hour drive south across the desert toward Sudan. It all seemed pretty safe but the vans travel this way to avoid any potential border issues.

After 3-weeks of living at the Bob Marley Peace Hotel and being immersed in both the hotel business and the ancient sites, it was time to move on. I had wanted to get to the Red Sea to do a little diving while the weather was still ok as the water starts cooling in November and winds pick up for a couple of months. I ended at the comfy little Rihana Guesthouse right off the beach where I stayed for 4-nights, Ibrihim, the owner, set me with up a great divemaster, Ahmed from Monkey Diving to do a little diving andspend  a day snorkeling with dolphins in a natural lagoon.  The water was not too bad with the water temperature about 78-79F and I had one day with 2 shore dives in very calm water. I saw some great fish that were new to me as about 20% of the fish are endemic to the Red Sea, a beautiful huge green

Green Turtle of the Red Sea 

 turtle, lots of skates, and vast stretches of beautiful coral. The variety of the hard coral was super impressive - every square inch of a huge reef was covered. The next day was a long trip out to see the dolphins but the drive and boat ride were worth it. The lagoon is a within a circular reef,  it's relatively shallow with gorgeous white sand below. The water is super clear so I makes spotting & following the dolphins so easy and all the more beautiful. We had plenty of time in the water to watch the dolphins swim about, play, nuzzle each other, and come up to the surface for a little "air time". The great thing about this experience was that it was in the dolphin's natural habitat & the marine preserve has tight guidelines for protecting the dolphins from boats that the tour operators all seem to follow closely as illegal activity has stiff penalties. 

Coast of Red Sea near Marsa Alam

While in Marsa Alam I was able to make another Workaway volunteer connection, this time in the Bahariya Oasis so I moved on quickly; 10-hours traveling north by bus, following the coast of the Red Sea to Cairo. I arrived at midnight and since I had to take the 7am bus west to the Bahariya Oasis in Bawiti and the traffic in Cairo even at that hour is horrific, I decided just to wait the 7-hours in the bus station - nodding off as well as I could. Then on to another bus for the 5 hour drive across the desert to Bawiti, a village in the Bahariya Oasis. Sometimes travel like this is just worth it get from point A to B with the least hassle. It helps so much learning from others how to maneuver the transportation & what to expect in new place. Ibrahim recommended that I use Uber in Cairo and it turned out to be just the perfect thing. Not only is Uber easy & you know exactly how much to pay my driver was such a nice fellow that I took his number so I can arrange rides with him again when I return to Cairo.

Along the road from Cairo to the Bhariya Desert is desert, 

Desert just past the Bahariya Oasis

desert, DESERT! Absolutely no sign of life until reaching the basin where the oasis sits, an unexpected find in the middle of nowhere.  Fed by natural hot mineral springs the community living in Bahariya uses simple techniques for irrigation to farm veggies and grow lots and lots and lots of palm dates.

Glimpse of the Bahariya Oasis in the Desert

My new job is helping a Loly, a young 30-something husband/father of 3, owner/manager of the Egypt Western Desert Tour company (http://egyptwesterndeserttours.com/) expand a new venture, Desert Oasis Dates, into an international export business (here is the simple WIX website I built for him http://desertoasisdates.wixsite.com/desertoasisdates). Like many Egyptians struggling to make a living in tourism, Loly intends to make this new business a way to replace if not supplement his desert tour business. To paraphrase him,  "I am a Bedouin and dates are a way of life not just a business". As I ask a thousand questions to try to understand this business he teaches me so much - most importantly though is that the date one of the first foods eaten in the evening after the day's fast during Ramadan - it is rich in flavor & high in calories and was also a favorite of the Prophet Mohamed. Dates are so important that during Ramadan, the shops can even run out of dates!

To teach me the business, he has taken me to one of his extended family's orchard where Ahmed, his uncle, climbed up in a tree to pick both fresh and naturally dried dates for me to try. Theses are the dates Loly will export as they are the best of the best - and wow! they have an amazing rich flavor & soft thick texture. It only took a couple to feel satisfied.

Of course very little time passes in Egypt without a stop for sweet tea. I sat for tea with the fellows and then joined Ahmed's wife & mother in a private enclosure for tea with them. Men and women don't mingle in this traditional community. And when engaged or married/adult women are out, they always wear their burka.

The next stop was to visit several of the local shops that sell dates to see just how they can be packaged:

A Bedouin and his dates - Loly!

Date vendor in Bawiti

  

So for the first several days here we spent time chatting about his dreams for his business. One important option to export to Muslim countries such as Indonesia who he expects will have the same appreciation for dates that Egypt has.  In just a couple days of pretty intense work - I took a lot of photos, created a logo (at last a draft to get started), set up a Facebook page, created a very simple Wix website, and did a lot of searching on the internet for dried fruit importers. I will be sending as many inquiry letters as possible while continuing to search for more importers and wholesalers. We are hoping for the best - that at least we'll get a response or two to get the ball rolling. Of course I have lots of questions about exporting licenses, quality control, health certification, etc. etc. - but for now he is satisfied to begin the search and deal with the details as they arise.

I had planned on staying only one week to work and maybe a couple days to catch one of his tours to the Black Desert and the White Desert. But now Loly is asking me to stay a little longer as a friend from Indonesia has arrived with a couple folks who, among other things, are interested in coming out to the Bahariya Oasis to see Loly's palm dates & discuss business. Loly thinks I have something to offer and so I'll stay a bit longer. 

I have  found out that with a basic gutsy "just do it" approach - the businesses I have come across with Workaway have been surviving. Perhaps our western thinking around product development, marketing and sales management (even what a non-professional like me can offer) seems to impress the folks I work with. Loly in particular appreciates what he calls thinking out of the box which just means the Egyptian box. They just all have this sense, though not sure how right, that the western way of thinking offers more. Maybe they will change their minds when they actually see what our efforts actually provide - maybe the western approach will just take them down the rabbit hole of excessive work hours and endless preoccupation with work. The one consistent message I hear though is that, in spite of being incredibly industrious and motivated they really don't want to sacrifice peace of mind and a life rich in time spent with family and friends.

Today I am getting cooking lessons from Do-ah - I watched and helped a little while she made a delicious stuffed cabbage dish. She's also promised to show me baba ganoush, that mush eggplant side dish / spread that she makes to perfection!

Fresh tomato pure' added to crisply fired onions

Simmer until sauce has reduced, add parsley & uncooked rice

Gently steam a cabbage, separate leaves & make small rolls with rice mixture

Add broth and gently simmer until rice is tender - Delicious!!

For those who keep asking - where am I going next? I'll give the same answer - I don't know where or when exactly. Of course I still need to visit crazy Cairo & the pyramids and from there … probably follow the Sinai coast to Dahab and then on to Jordan and Israel.

Interested in a few comparisons with the USA

Egypt… a few stats from the  2014 Census,  INDEX Mundi

Population (of 242 countries): ranks 15, almost 86,895 million (USA ranks 3, almost 320 million)

Population density (of 242 countries): ranks 115, 86,77 people per sq. km;  (USA ranks 176, 33 people per sq. km),

Poverty (of 215 countries): ranks 95, 22% (USA ranks 127, 15%), population below poverty line

Literacy (of 215 countries): ranks 166, 73.9% (USA ranks 45, 99%).

HIV adult prevalence (of 169 countries) ranks 123, 0.1%  (USA ranks 62, 0.6% )

Life Expectancy at birth (of 221 countries): ranks 120, 73 yrs. (USA ranks 41, 79 yrs.)

Until the next time!!

Hope all is well in your world!!

Love - Stephanie

Walk Like an Egyptian!