Egypt

One interesting character in the history of Modern Egypt is Soliman Pasha el Faransawi سليمان باشا الفرنساوي (Solomon Pasha the French).

There are many interesting things about the Egyptian desert.The are completely barren areas, like along the road between Cairo and Fayyoum (known as Asuit road).West of Alexandria, the Mariout area blooms with various flowers in late winter.South West of Alexandria, there are high cliffs, desert lakes in oasis settings, and seas of sand.There are fossils of whales in the south, as well as artifacts from ancient human settlements, such as flint arrowheads, rock paintings, and the like.

This page contains some links about Egypt.

• Haneen Egypt Links - A very comprehensive list of all things relating to Egypt, including official/government sites, and much more.
• Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)
• Egyptology Links

Here are some resources on what the Ancient Egyptians had for food, and some recipes as well.

El Sakakra السكاكرة is a village about 3 kilometers north east of Hehia ههيا (also Hehya), which is the center (Markaz) to which Shersheima belongs. Hehia is about 15 kilometers north east of El Zaqaziq الزقازيق , the capital of the governorate of El Sharqeyya (Sharkeya or Sharkeyya الشرقية).

In the 1960s, it had only 2,100 people, and by the early 21st century, it has 6,000 to 7,000 people. 

Shersheima شرشيمة (or Shershema) is a twin village of El Sakakra, with a drainage canal separating them, which has been filled now.

Some traditions or customs just vanish over time. Once you are 30 years or more, you start to see this for yourself, reminiscing over how things were like when you grew up, vs. how they are now.These are examples of societies evolving right before your eyes.Let take a few examples from Egypt, related to cooking for example.

Two salted fish specialities that are exclusively Egyptian, are Feseekh, and Melouha.

The Red Sea is considered as a separate eco-system, being only connected at its southern end to the Indian ocean (that is until recently, a little over a century, when the Mediterranean Sea was connected to it by the Suez Canal.

This isolation, has caused the Red Sea to be unspoilt over the eons. Its corals are still in good shape compared to other regions of the world where human activities take their toll on the environment.

Egyptians are known to crack up new jokes every day. If the joke is not on politics, rulers, daily life, Upper Egyptians, then it is on themselves. Jokes help the average Egyptian get along with crowded streets, the boss at work, the spouse at home, and many other daily ordeals.

Here is a list of sites that you can visit to get lots of jokes.

The Rayyan Valley lies about 20 km west of El Fayyoum, a fertile depression south west of Cairo, Egypt. It is visible from any airplane passing over the area, where the two lakes (see below) are clear. It is a spectacular view to see the Fayyoum oasis, surrounded by desert and barren mountains from all sides, Lake Qarun from the North West, and the life-giving Bahr Youssef (a tributary from the Nile River).

Below are some pictures. Here is another link to Rayyan Valley photos by an Egyptian Canadian.