Assalaam alaikum, Alhamdulillah, Inshallah

I’ve heard a lot of people speak about how ‘unislamic’ muslim countries are.  Granted, there are many negatives, sometimes worse than what you’d experience in the States.  The positive is there however, for whoever wants to see it. 
 I remember reading an email of a transcribed lecture in which a shiekh was giving reasons for making hijrah.  One reason [...]

Dust storms and ATMs from h%$#.

 
Last week I braved a dust storm to go get money from an ATM.  Really high winds, low visibility, dust in the eyes, etc.  Put the card in, select amount, out comes card, but no money.  Can this really be happening?  Egypt is notorious for having card-eating ATMs, I have lost my card TWICE.  Rushed [...]

Rain, rain…

A British sister and I took the kids to the park yesterday, despite me having some sort of stomach bug.  I know of at least two other families who are afflicted with the same illness.  It causes either diarrhea or vomitting and horrid labor-like cramps.  Anyway, I took my son’s bike.  Basically we had to [...]

In the footsteps of the Sahaba..

We finally got out for some sightseeing last weekend.  This is only the second time in the two plus years we’ve lived in Egypt that we’ve been anywhere.  The first time was the pyramids (in my opinion a waste of money, drive to Giza and look at them from outside the gates!)
We visited the first [...]

Another Eid (Celebration)

 
A few days ago I feed the kids, got them ready for Quran school (3x a week), and sent them downstairs to wait for the driver.  Ten minutes, no driver.  After twenty minutes they troop back upstairs complaining she is not coming.  I call her cell phone, it’s off.  Later I find out she’d taken [...]

Spring is here! (and so are the roaches..)

It’s spring!  The sun is shining, colorful flowers are blooming on the trees, the souk is full of strawberries, watermelon, and tangerines (no grapes yet!).  And the roaches are back.  Cairo is an environment for roaches to thrive in.  Overcrowded, insufficient/inefficient trash collection provide an ideal home for the yucky creatures.  Not so much of a [...]

Housekeeping and housekeepers

After moving here, one of the first things I realized is how much harder it is to clean house in Egypt.  The floors need to be mopped on a daily basis because of the dust.  Windows and furniture need daily dusting.  Egypt is a desert and there is a LOT of dust.  Basically it takes a lot more [...]