Saturday, March 10, 2007

Yesterday I made my way to my SIL Gehan's place in Smoha - took a taxi - had my niece Yasmeen with me - she had been at Mom's place - and she opted to come back home with me - preferred to take a taxi rather than microbus and then the tram. Had a good evening with the family. Left around 9 - came home and had plans of going straight to bed - but wasted a bit of time watching some television - made it to bed around 11:15 or so.

Well today was a relatively quiet day. Got up around 8 and puttsed around - had great plans - but somewhere along the line my get up and go got up and left me in the dust. Spent some time outside reading and enjoying the sun - was quite windy - but the sun felt good. Then Mahmood called - wanted to know if he could come and play his game online - said sure - then he informed me that Mohammed and Mawada were also coming- Mohammed to ride his bike on the balcony and Mawada to keep me company - truth of the matter is they came to watch cartoons as they no longer have TV - which is fine. I actually got busy and hung up my pictures - got my rogues gallery up at least - dragged out the drill that I had purchased and drilled a few holes - not a pretty job - but the pictures are hung - which is a step in making this place really feel like home. Have lots more to do - but ran out of inspiration. Am debating putting up my pics of 'my' prophet and counsellors, as well as some pics of the saviour - talked with my g/f who is a Canadian married to an Egyptian - both of them are Muslim - wanted her two bits - she suggested that I not put up my Christian things as this might cause Aymn to feel even more as if this place is mine alone - but then we talked some more and I said that I would not mind putting up some verses from the Quran - they are not allowed to put up pics of the Prophet Mohammed - so now I need to talk to Suzanne and see if we can find somewhere where I can find some pictures and/or verses to put up so we can have a mixed religious wall. I do miss having my pics up - so hopefully we can figure something out and have it all done before Aymn gets back home - I have no idea how long he will be gone - he had said 2-3 days - but I am not holding my breath on that one - have learned that 98% of the time 2-3 days ends up being a week or more. Have included a couple of shots of the rogues gallery. For those of you who spent time in my home in Calgary it will look very familiar. I even got busy and put up my maps of Canada and The World - may end up moving them - may put the other pics there and move the maps to the hallway to the bathroom and the master bedroom. Who knows - I am just hoping that the pics stay up - in Canada I used push pins to hold them up - but push pins just do not do the trick when workng with concrete walls - so for the pics that do not need 'nails' I have used sticky tack - hope it holds up - I tried it in Libya - and they held - until it got to 45C - then everything just fell apart - this place does not get that hot - thank goodness.



I know, I know - I need to get busy and get pics taken of the flat and post them - soon - I promise I will endeavour to get my act together and get some pics taken and posted. Maybe do a room a day until they are all done. But that means I have to get busy and get the rooms all cleaned up and ready for inspection - such a drag - LOL. The spare bedroom was fine until I started working on pictures - now the bed is a mess - but should not take all that long to get it organized - she says so blithely.

I have enjoyed my two day break from walking - my legs have just about recovered - so tomorrow I will be back at it and they will be protesting - oh well such is life.

9 comments:

Safa said...

It looks so homey now! Great work! I have some of that sticky tack.....wasn't sure if it actually works here tho......

Anonymous said...

Frame your other things , then hang them as you would pictures , saves on the wear and tear of them .About the religious pictures ; my 2 cents worth is this :you Should be ABLE to have your relidious things up also , but my experence in this feild is that no matter What the Quran says , no one likes /or feels comfortable when a Christian expresses his/hers beilfs So Visably in a bi-religious home . You might aleinate your Muslim family members with such a visable reminder that you are Not indeed Muslim after all . Sorry , but this unfortunatly true .

Anonymous said...

Curious about the TV you watch. Are there any programs that you are familiar with? Any thing in English or from "hollywood"?

Like your pictures on the wall. Looks just like it did here in Canada for sure. So sorry about you having to make a decision about putting up the pictures of Christ and President Hinckley. I say go for it and it's so nice that you also consider your husband's beliefs. It is very hard to stand up for what you believe in when amongst others who do not. I love your integrity to try and do so. From what I have read about your relatives....I see that they accept you for you and who you are and LOVE you just the same.....so for my two bits, I say go for it, if you are going to be putting up some of your husband's stuff too. HE knew who he was marrying and his family knows that you are Christian and so why would they NOW feel differently?

Anonymous said...

Assalamu Aleikum,

Just curious, why do you wear the hijab? Do you feel it adds to your modesty? What denomination are you.

Also, do you attend services while in Egypt? I know there are lots of Christians in Egypt, do they cover their heads also?

Thanks.

egianqueen said...

Musulmana, the reason I wear hijab is out of respect to my husbands wishes and also because I feel much more comfortable when I am out and about being covered. When I first came to Egypt I dressed as I normally would in Canada and I stuck out like a sore thumb, I do not like the attention, so this way I blend in until I open my mouth and then the game is up, as my arabic is still very limited. As to my denomination in my heart I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, more commonly called Mormons, and I have yet to attend services here in Egypt as the only branch is in Cairo, which is 2.5 hours away. And the Christians here do not cover.

Anonymous said...

Also I am curious, do you believe that Muhammad was a prophet?

I'm sorry for all the questions. I actually talked to two young Mormons once-invited them in to talk about religion. I did most of the talking though. LOL!

I understand that you believe Joseph Smith was a prophet that came to the Americas in the 1800s.
http://www.mormon.org/learn/
0,8672,886-1,00.html
Are there different sects of Mormons?

Thanks.

egianqueen said...

Musulmana - I do not know if Mohammed was a prophet - I am not going to say either way - and yes we believe that Joseph Smith was/is a prophet and we have prophets who continue to lead and guide us in this day - and lastly - yes there are different sects of the religion.

Susan said...

I was curious about the same things Musulmana was regarding the hegab. Does your husband's family know you're not Muslim? I've never known someone to veil in Egypt who wasn't Muslim, w/ the exception of going to some mosques and perhaps visiting a really small town. Modest? Definitely, but I found people assumed anyone in a veil must be Muslim, rather than just observing local customs. (That's not intended as a criticism at all, btw. Just an observation) :-)
Can't wait to see more photos!

egianqueen said...

Cairogal - yes my dear Egyptian family knows that I am not a Muslim and love me anyway - and when people see me they do assume that I am Muslim - and I 'enlighten' them - everyone has been wonderful when they find out that as a Christian I cover.