Since Egypt is a Muslim country, Christmas eve and day are normal work days for the locals. Hotels feature a lavish Christmas Gala dinner and the visit of the Santa Claus on the beach. Some shops supply Christmas decorations, but otherwise this is like any day here. The wind was very strong and cold, so the temperature was only +21. Sweaters, woollen and socks come already handy!
However, my colleagues and I gathered for a Christmas dinner together. We had Finnish ham with Turun sinappi, rosolli, Carelian pies with egg butter, carrot casserole, gingerbread cookies, and Fazer's Xmas edition gingerbread chocolate. My boss presented each of us miniature perfume bottles that she had hauled from tax-free, and another one gave us little purses stocked with salmiakki chocolate from Finland.
On the Christimas day we had a special programme with our local colleagues. Instead of reindeer sleigh ride in snow, we drove to a bedouin village and hitched camels for a one-hour ride in the desert. My colleague and I chose white gentle camels, and ihop! -off we went. You need to hold tightly from the saddle knobs at front and back when the camel rises up. Each bedouin man lead two camels deeper into the desert, where steep rocky mountains rose right at our feet. Camel is the most important investment that a bedouin owns, and therefore they are well kept. Our guide scratched and stroked the neck of our camels every now, let them nibble dried grass on the ground as we proceeded, and letting other one's reigns rest in the camel's curved neck.
Back in the village we were offered a typical Egyptian dinner: cucumber and tomato salad with spicy white spreaded cheese and tahina, sesame paste. There was potato casserole, chicken and kofta, longish meat balls, and of course tea, served from tiny emal cups.
Our guide gave us a round in the terrarium that the village hosted – a collection of reptiles in all sizes and shapes each in their own cubicle: a chameleon, lizards, leguans, cobra, Saharan horned viper, large brown and black python, whom those who wished could pet (been there, done than earlier...). There was another fencing for turtles muching lettuce, and a blue bucket that was home to two tiny crocodilettes 20 centimetres long, brought from the river Nile. They were said to be six months old.
We climbed to a hill overlooking Sahara for a photo-op, and drove back to town at sunset. Later we continued the Xmas day party with my colleagues singing xmas carols, accompanied by guitar and my flute.
Ei kommentteja:
Lähetä kommentti