... or ... Happy New Year Everyone!
It is hard to believe we have reached 2012 already! I hope that everyone has had a wonderful time celebrating the dawn of a New Year and is looking forward to the new opportunities that this year will bring! Obviously back in my home country, England, we have a few treats in store; Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee (60 years on the throne) and the 2012 Olympic Games to name but a couple. Here in Egypt the much anticipated presidential elections will be taking place, and so the chance for a new start and God willing a brighter future for the country.
My New Year celebrations were fantastically spontaneous and, as usually happens when plans are thrown together, I had a brilliant time. It has prompted me to write a few words about festive celebrations in Egypt at this time of year. The alternative was to write about one of my favourite complaints – the mosquitos! I considered this option after spending the whole of last week looking like I had been punched in the eye as the whole area was inflamed due, most likely, to one of the little critters biting me. I decided that this is not a very festive topic so I will leave it alone for today; but I will broach the subject when the celebrations in Egypt have come to a close, because I can’t be the only one who was worried about the mosquitoes before travelling and searching the web for advice.
So back to lighter topics! Other blogs and forums may suggest that Egyptians do not celebrate Christmas. In terms of the Western festival I accept that this is true. Obviously with Muslims celebrating their feast ‘Eid’ earlier in the year and Christians celebrating their feast (loosely termed Christmas but not exclusively so) on January 7th Christmas as I know it back in England, on December 25th is practically non-existent (aside from in a very small circle of expats and venues geared towards tourism.) However, New Year’s Eve here is often called ‘Christmas’ so yes, I can confirm, contrary to popular belief and to my former understanding, Christmas is widely celebrated in Cairo! Admittedly the troubles that the city has had over the last 12 months may have taken the edge off of proceedings this year, but general feedback from my friends and colleagues suggests that most people had a lovely evening out (or in) to change the mood and celebrate a new year and a new hope.
Generally out on the streets things carry on as normal although traffic is heavier, as with all major events. I also noticed that just like most Fridays (when half of the population of Cairo are using running water at once before going to the mosque or the church), my shower pressure plummeted and I couldn’t get hot water (I am slowly getting used to opportunistic shower taking!) Aside from these telltale signs, there was not much to report outside. The celebrations all happen in the bars, clubs and restaurants around town. Here the venues are decorated with Christmas trees, stockings, tinsel and life-size, gyrating Santa Claus figurines; enough to scar any child for life!
When deciding on our evening’s entertainment I checked a number of web pages, all which seemed fairly current and displayed a good choice of venues:
www.cairo360.com Generally out on the streets things carry on as normal although traffic is heavier, as with all major events. I also noticed that just like most Fridays (when half of the population of Cairo are using running water at once before going to the mosque or the church), my shower pressure plummeted and I couldn’t get hot water (I am slowly getting used to opportunistic shower taking!) Aside from these telltale signs, there was not much to report outside. The celebrations all happen in the bars, clubs and restaurants around town. Here the venues are decorated with Christmas trees, stockings, tinsel and life-size, gyrating Santa Claus figurines; enough to scar any child for life!
When deciding on our evening’s entertainment I checked a number of web pages, all which seemed fairly current and displayed a good choice of venues:
Unfortunately I couldn’t find an exhaustive listing of all of the major events around the city and it is possibly better to rely on word of mouth or friends in the city for the best recommendations. For tourists I would honestly advise you to do something totally out of the ordinary for example an evening on a static or a moving Nile boat in El Maadi, or a visit to the desert (like my Christmas trip).
Four short stay tourists, prices for most parties around town are affordable with the exchange rate. Most celebrations seem to be within the region of 300 LE – 600 LE (£30 - £60). Living and working here we had a tighter budget so had to shop around. After finding out that our ‘Plan A’ was cancelled (whilst in the taxi en route to the venue!) Rami made a few calls and took me instead to a fantastic event at the Swiss Inn Hotel in Gamet El Dewal, El Mohandeseen – only about 10 minutes from IH Cairo ILI.The entrance fee was 250LE and included a free glass of pink champagne on arrival, a wonderful meze style dinner, DJ, entertainment (a belly dancer) and goody bag (the contents of which I emptied onto myself immediately- see below). The venue was simple yet smart and the music varied between Western and Egyptian modern and classics. It was a fun and modest way to bring in 2012. I sure with more money we could have celebrated like kings, however, for our budget the place was perfect and the service impeccable (a trait I have found common in a large amount of places across Egypt; they really know how to treat their guests). One reasonably strange addition to the proceedings that I was not so keen on was the rather strange choice of television channel on the large screen TV: In my opinion nothing says ‘Season’s Greetings’ better than apocalyptic thriller movie ‘2012’!
So all in all it was a very enjoyable way to see in the New Year and confirms that Egyptians certainly do know how to party! For those who are questioning the speculations I will confirm two things
1) It is not illegal to drink alcohol in Egypt, as long as it is done in the correct places and not on the street. So all in all it was a very enjoyable way to see in the New Year and confirms that Egyptians certainly do know how to party! For those who are questioning the speculations I will confirm two things
2) Dress is generally modest in and around Cairo and you shouldn’t wear short skirts or sleeveless tops but the rules are a bit more relaxed inside places such as hotels and clubs… So cover up whilst outside and strut your stuff when you get inside!
Next week I have the last of my Christmas celebrations as Rami’s family celebrate the Coptic Feast. I am looking forward to it tremendously but I am sure my Christmas dinner, which is currently getting fat on the roof above my head, is not so eager for its arrival!(I am sure a lot of vegetarians and animal rights activists will be appalled at this but I can assure you the birds have led a far nicer life up there in their little enclosure with space to stretch their legs, than half of the poor creatures that end up on the shelves of the supermarkets!) I will bring you a full report of the event in my next blog but for now it’s time to start on my New Year’s Resolutions: find a gym, make some more expat friends and reach a point in my Arabic studies where I can hold an comprehensible conversation with Rami’s parents!
Perhaps the last is a little ambitious but I am hopeful. 2012 brings a new calendar of Arabic lessons at IH Cairo ILI and so with it the chance to continue my studies in earnest now that the festive celebrations are almost over and I am finally becoming used to this new life in a new country. Private tuition I have been taking at the college over the past month has allowed me to enter 2012 knowing the whole Arabic alphabet, so I can now unlock the secrets of the Arabic script which will help my study a great deal. Alphabet classes are actually offered free for ECA 1 students but in all the excitement of my move abroad and the start of my internship I simply neglected to take the course. My private classes continue to bring me ‘up to speed’ so when I rejoin normal lessons later in the year, and with some work and a lot of encouragement from the fantastic teachers, I should excel in no time at all.
I like this one too ;) good job babes xxx
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happy new year in arabic having a different letters ;)
Enjoyed the read deb xx
ReplyDeleteThanks anonymous! I have had help to change the spelling so hopefully it is right now! I admit to that mistake however in my defense, typing in Arabic adds a whole new level of difficulty to the language!!
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