Sudanese Camel Market and Small Reptile Farm

Hello! Busy busy week with two outtings, homeschooling, keeping up w/ the house and market stuff! Today was such a great day! Our guide, Hala (Alla but add the H sound) was marvelous! We really enjoyed her! We rode in a very nice 12 passenger van (counting seatbelts). Chuck and Laura are from Bay City, Michigan, they both teach at a college here in Cairo. Sonya and I seemed like sisters from the first meet! I really enjoyed everyone today! Our driver was a wonderful driver, he stopped a couple times just for me to take photos. The drive was over 1 hr in each direction. Sonya is from Pennsylvania - she came for a 3 mo internship and never left - she's been here 10 mo and has no desire to leave. She was SUPER with the kids....I really could've done it w/o another adult, but she just came right alongside me, we were great friends!! I got her number, she has mine...she lives probably 20 min walk...I am hoping we can get together sometimes :-) I told her when Rob is home,I'd like to meet her at an Egyptian restaurant and just INDULGE! :-) A girls night :-)

The camel market is a rare adventure. It is an auction to sell camels. Some Egyptians trade sheep or goats, but mostly it's a cash trade. The camels and men of the family have almost a 2 mo WALK to get to the Egyptian market. The camels are sold and used for labor and meat.

This is not an "American friendly" market. We were the only women there and we were urged not to talk to the locals, tho I did talk to the kids if they were Joshua's size or smaller - typically the Eygptians are 10-13 yrs old and Joshua's size. Same with the Sudanese. It was not as people-scary as the pyramids, but the 10's of thousands of LOOSE camels being BEATEN and run thru the area is...ummm....well blood pressure medicine is required ;)

The smell just reminded me of being on a farm, it wasn't really "sickening" but definitely OVERWHELMING....thankfully it was only 23 today (celcius) - what is that...maybe 74 degrees? and no real wind gusts. Some soft breezes made some trouble for us off and on, but nothing to complain about!

Jasmine didn't want to be carried, she wanted to be like Joshua - insert eye roll please - ha ha! But she was definitely intimidated!! I had to place her and then show her Icould still reach her even w/ the camera ;) And take her photo - she was especially interested in a couple ponies we saw wondering..and did get a couple cute shots with her!

She was very excitd about the small reptile farm we visited on the way back - lets just say that if it were hot, I'd have passed out likely....I did use my "panic voice" and over react a couple times, but no one was offended, they just patted my back and said "I agree!" everyone was REALLY great, The cameleon on Joshua's head nearly did me in.....but it was the angry cobra's that made me taste bile! I wouldn't even take a photo of the scorpion.....and I pulled Joshua back - making him angry, but made me more comfortable - YES IT WAS JUST OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUT in a container...BUT OUT!!

We saw some unique varmints!! and Joshua held a couple - there's your warning, mom!! Don't look any further if it'll scare you! ha ha! smooches!! Even skunks!!! This type doesn't have the capacity to spray, apparently, but they have their smell!! The ducks you'll see just prior to the reptiles are the ducks dating back to Pharaonic times...the ones used in heiroglyphics (there I go trying to spell that word again!) and other misc ancient images. They seemed smaller than mallards. But not "small."

Today the kids and I tried Egyptian tea - apparently, according to Hala, it is sweeter here than usual - but it was WONDERFUL! A type of herb we don't know or use, no translation even - yummy!! Tasted to be sweetened like honey not a sugar sweet, if that makes any sense? This was at the reptile farm.

OH THE SMELL!!!!!!!!!!! When we were at the repitle farm, I went to kiss Jasmine's head and cringed! We all smelled each other and cringed then laughed pretty hard! NAAAAAAAASTY! Us girls washed our hair two times!! I put our clothes thru the wash cycle 2 times..and even the backpack!!

Joshua's asthma is still doing GREAT!! I did have him do one treatment of xopenex (rescue med) because he was coughing....just to be safe.....we're home and he's still ok. I'm using my arabic more and more and understanding more than I thought I would by now!! I'm getting more excited about classes starting April 11, same as Jasmine's preschool (Sun and Tues, me 9-11, her 8-1)

My mom had an MRI yesterday...we'd sure appreciate prayers that the reading goes smoothly and can have some solid direction next Thursday at the next appt!!

Well, thanks for reading!! Thanks for looking! Thanks for all who enjoyed that bird I photographed at the museum! We saw 8 today in one spot!! We have never seen them on trees like a woodpecker, always on the ground. The tuft on it's head can get bigger and smaller....I am completely unsure what it is! Oh another interesting thing - no squirrels in this country! I asked Hala today, she said she knew exactly what I meant and they have no such creature...nothing similar!

In the photos - Hala has brown/red hair, Sonya has black hair.

Joshua and I got the house cleaned in 2 hrs! HOORAY!! fresh house! every 3 days we start over, it's amazing how much black silt is around after such short time! Hiring Cecil was a good idea, he did a good job w/ some things I haven't gotten to do yet...sorry no bed moving pics ;) lolol - tho you girls had me chuckling!! But now I have a bed for my parents! I am thinking we'll move the sofa into our bedroom and be like Lucy and Ricky ;) And maybe save to buy another sofa for the living area ;)

I don't like the new mattress either....in fact, I hate it. So if Rob agrees he hates it, we'll change back AGAIN....and he'll be back to the sofa anyway...sigh...oh well! Rob and I **really** are a good team here! He has more downtime than in the US, even w/ his newest job there...it really is good here for us! We need each other much more than we ever did as independent Americans ;)







you see above, Joshua after playing football (soccer) at the field ;) VERY dirty!! ha! VERY happy! and a shot of us driving today - I'm still WHOA! about seeing pyramids - lol!!

don't you see Jasmine there and wanna yell STAMPEEEEEEEEEED! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! it was like that a couple of times ;) but only a couple! lol - the camels are VERY peaceful! horses would've flipped out and killed us all ;)

you can notice it may seem like the camels have 3.5 legs, but they use rope to tie it up at the knee so they can't run (as fast cuz they can still go quite fast!). We saw almost white camels, tan camels, GREY camels and very dark brown camels. Apparently the whiter the camel (not clean, but hair color) the more desirable. I was surprised how HAIRY some of the camels were!!! And oh the noises they make...they do that horrible noise even w/o a 36 yr old woman on their back! lol







inthe next batch you can see the REALLY tall camels - they were grey, there were 4 of them QUITE astounding!!!!!!!! These men were taller than me and standing RIGHT next to it!! it was a GIANT BEAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but truly gentile....they directed their anger at the ones w/ the beating rods...and steered clear of us...sometimes even stopped to say hello ;) Very gentile! I want one! You'll also see a baby or two....somewhere in here ;)






Above we also caught a quick shot of their "home away from home"

And for those who think - yes, yes, just more shots of more camels HAVE NO APPRECIATINO FOR THEM! lol - we were TRULY in a a herd and it was ASTOUNDING! OVERHWELMING! MAYA MAYA! You also see I took a shot of a camel butt and you think "why did she take that shot?" Remind yourselves WHO took it - oh yes...Wendy "would" think that's cute, wouldn't she? Even their little tails are adorable!! Plus, I have a rhino hiney shot from 20 yrs ago....I needed a camel one too!

No, we did not get spit upon, tho we saw lots of drool and we didn't get w/in 6' of the ones who were sick - front NOR backs! eek! I will spare you the image, if you don't figure it out on your own ;)







And you must admit they're adorable in the back of the trucks headed to their new homes! They would look back and forth wide-eyed...and if one would complain, they'd all look at him like "what's your deal? at least you're sitting down!" ha ha!

Next is the reptile farm - we saw two baboons, a turkey vulture and plenty of angry german shepherd doggies...

first is a shot of one farm near the area....the strange shot is the "shack" we're inside....the big birds are emu's. VERY skiddish and unfriendly - ha! They don't sell eggs, Teri L in MO, I did ask!! :-) I had 200 LE on me, was ready to make a buy for baking! MmmmMmmmMmmm! Eggs I can bake w/ for Joshua! Camels go for much more $$ - drats! not enough to get me one!







warning - the following photos may make some tummies uneasy ;)

There are 2 chameleons...yes...I let one on me...but when it got to my shoulder, I freaked out a bit - understatement of the year ;) The man removed it promptly, as they all chuckled! But, only Joshua was braver than I, w/ it ON HIS HEAD!!

We also saw a desert fox.....really beautiful!











I simply HAD to get in one more shot of the camels! :-) LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL