Life! The original plan last weekend was to go to the Sinai with friends, but schedule changes and current events made that seem like not such a good idea. So instead my good friend Hagar invited me to visit her family in Upper Egypt with her. Our trip took us to a village near Beni Suef and into Fayoum. It was a really amazing experience. The land was beautiful, but the weather was HOT. True to Egyptian hospitality I was fed to near exploding. The family kept telling me that this visit was something special, because a lot of Egyptians never see life in Upper Egypt. It was like walking into National Geographic. Naturally, the best way to describe this trip is with photos:
Added Bonus: I came home from this voyage with a huge bag of basil. I had been craving presto, but hadn't been able to find any basil (I also did not know it's name in Arabic). To my surprise, when we were out grilling corn in the family's farm field at midnight (pictured above) someone picked a hand-full of greens and told me to smell. BASIL! They were so excited that I was so excited they gifted it to me :) I dried some, I made some into pesto (without a food processor, mind you!), and I froze some. I would not advise the last of those options, but I had more than I knew what to do with!
I love family adventures in Egypt! I think the best way to gain understanding of a culture is to view it from inside a family. I am so honored to have so many great families welcome me into their homes.
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