Souq al-Gamaal

The Birqash Camel Market

I was told it used to be held

in down town Cairo,

and I can only imagine how crazy,

 messy and wild it must have been..

This market is held every Friday,

dawn to dusk,

and has been, for ages...

It is not for the sensitive.

It is mainly a meat market,

and hundreds of camels are being sold,

 bargained for, bought or swapped here.

I was told this is the largest market 

of its kind, in the world.

In all respect for traditions,

it is pretty wild and not very organized.

At least seen with the eyes of us "first-timers",

probably not understanding

how difficult it must be to hold these long-legged,

fast moving creatures in line.

Camels and herders are seemingly running 

in all directions.

And the herders come in all ages,

tradition taught from one generation to the next.

Some of these beautiful "ships of the desert" 

are brought in from Libya,

Sudan, Somalia and Aswan.

For some their last trip

is in the back of a truck.

Drawing the connections to the beef,

sheep and chicken industry

in other countries,

I would put this in the same category.

Some humans eat meat,

some also eat camel meat...

Nadim furniture factory

...and so much more!

What a treat to get to visit this place.

I expected a small furniture making business

and found instead a large factory

where workers are not yet

 replaced by machinery.

Workers with years and years of practice

in the art of traditional, 

beautiful hand-carving and inlay wood work.

Today, 350 workers total, a bit down from 2008
when the same factory had over 900 employees.

My guess is that the revolution

might be to blame, but I do not know for sure...

This man works on a tiny piece of wood,

this again will be cut into even smaller pieces.

See the small piece between the finger tips?

This piece will be joined with yet other pieces

to make this intricate Mashrabiya latticework. 

Just fabulous work!

They build chairs and tables, screens etc.

with to most intricate details...

Nadim factory also contribute to the protection of

a special embroidery technique called Tally,

traditionally practiced by women from

 from Upper Egypt (south).

This by extending the usage to furniture accessories, 

like pillows and pictures.

They also contribute to teach the art
to younger females

in order to keep the tradition "alive".

This is a special kind of embroidery

using metal threads on solid color fabric or net material.

A technique that dates back to the 18th century.

Beautiful work!

And in Cairo you will find cats everywhere,

this place is no exception!

Have a nice day,

hope you enjoy the trip!

Cats in Cairo

You will see them everywhere.

Some enjoying the shade...

some a little shy,

and a bit scared...

some cuter than others,

some friendlier and more curious...

Like this one.

Not shy at all.

Crawled up in my lap

without an invitation...

..uh.... I guess that's not exactly true,

but I didn't have to ask twice...

What can be better

..than an early morning in bed

with grandchildren...

I feel so blessed

and cherish every moment I have

with them.

 Family is so important,

and idealistically

I would love to live closer 

to them all!

But it is easier said than done,

so we need to have a lot of 

quality time whenever its possible..

 I wasn't sure

if the girls were to young

to play with these dolls,

it can be a little tricky to get the clothes on,

sometimes.

So mormor only made one doll

to start with...

The youngest one crawled in bed with me last,

and the first thing out of her mouth was:

" Where is mine...?"

Her sister was playing with 

the only doll that I had made,

so the 2 year old figured 

she could put the already finished clothing

directly on top of the pictures in the book.

Too cute!

Bless her heart!

Within the hour

I was knitting halfway up the leg

on the second doll,

and a few days later,

Annalola was born...

Having to board a plane pretty soon,

the third doll,

for my third little grand daughter,

will be on my needles.

Have a great Valentines Day!

 

Dolls

I found Arne and Carlo's book

about "Strikkedukker"

at my local Barnes and Nobel.

Oh Joy!!

It is like being a kid again.

This is how my interest for knitting started

many years ago,

too many years....

I used to get all my mothers leftover yarn,

made small miniature yarn balls,

all colors, all thicknesses,

mostly wool.

It was my treasure.

With a rubber band tied around

the end of a couple of staight needles,

 I was set for hours of fun.

So far I only made one doll

from the book.

I had to much fun making clothes

and getting her all dressed up.

Having several little "grandgirls"

I might have to make a couple more...

Have a nice day,

I am enjoying mine...

Endelig i mål

Siste sting med hvitt på hvitt idag,

og ikke et minutt for tidlig!

Dette sendes til Husfliden for ferdigstilling

så snart jeg kommer til Norge til uken.

Har jobbet jevnt og trutt

med bunadskjorte brodering de siste månedene.

Selve stakken fikk jeg ferdig før sommeren,

så den er nå montert og klar.

Det har blitt lite strikking innimellom,

gav meg ikke helt lov til det...

Så nå skal det bli godt

å bruke pinnene igjen.

Startet  på en lue i går kveld,

kanskje jeg får dette mønsteret skrevet

i løpet av julen.

Ha en fin advent tid!

December trip in the desert

Yesterday we had a great trip,

three families in three cars.
(Make sure to click on the pictures for better view)

A safety concern driving in the desert

is if the car brake down.

So never go alone!

 Hi, another car!

One can feel far from civilization, some times,

travelling on road tracks

marked with rocks.

There are always room, even if all the seats are taken.

We covered several sites.

First stop was at lake Qarun.

Great to get out of the dust and traffic in Cairo,

and rest our eyes on this peaceful lake.

The fishermen were in their boats,

gathering their nets.

A little morning fog was still hanging over the lake,

giving it a soft frame.

Next stop was the Waterfalls at Wadi Fayoum Oases.

Waterfall in the desert?

Read about it here...

However the beautiful colored boats 

and the fishermen

caught my interest.

Also the horses,

well decorated with colorful saddles,

and this colorful woman,

selling her shell-bead necklaces

hanging from her head.

(She charged me for the picture...)

On the shore,

a shelter for the sun,

or maybe a bed for the night.

Sahara shawl at Ravelry