Sniff the Breeze Day

Mission to Egypt

April 2000 - September 2001

Week of May 7, 2000

Step Pyramid beyond the palms.

"There was a national holiday last week, May 1, so we went on an outing with some members of the Church. 'Sham an-Nessim' is a special Coptic holiday with Pharaonic origins. It literally means 'the smell of a fresh wind.' The Pharaonic rite of spring, or 'sniffing the breezes,' is the origin of some Western Easter practices, including the dyeing of eggs."

Red Pyramid on skyline.

"One of the great views was seeing where the Nile Valley ends and the desert abruptly begins. We took pictures along the road of rural areas as well as the pyramids and ruins. It was different to see crops of wheat growing in groves of date
palms. It has to be harvested by hand."

"Garbage is everywhere mixed with dirt. It's in Maadi and it's in the country too. The people tell us the national bird is the flying plastic
bag. The garbage collection trucks in the area we live are merely pickups with cardboard along the sides to make the bed hold a higher load."

The British occupied Egypt for 80 years (up until 1952) and have
planted in Maadi so many flowering trees and shrubs. It is delightful to walk down a street with flowering trees arching over the road-- until they begin to lose their blossoms which fall on your clothes and leave a stain. And the Holly Hocks seem to grow everywhere. Some get really tall, 10' or so, where they get more water.

The entrance to Nancy's favorite bakery.

"The Taylors are not learning the Arabic words very fast: too many sounds to make that are difficult to reproduce. Here we are in a land that speaks Arabic and our Church meetings are held in English because 99% of the members here speak English. If there were more members that spoke Arabic we could use the two languages. We do have a Sunday School class in Arabic, but that is all.

	Step Pyramid beyond the palms. "There was a national holiday last week, May 1, so we went on an outing with some members of the Church. 'Sham an-Nessim' is a special Coptic holiday with Pharaonic origins. It literally means 'the smell of a fresh wind.' The Pharaonic rite of spring, or 'sniffing the breezes,' is the origin of some Western Easter practices, including the dyeing of eggs."
	Red Pyramid on skyline. "One of the great views was seeing where the Nile Valley ends and the desert abruptly begins. We took pictures along the road of rural areas as well as the pyramids and ruins. It was different to see crops of wheat growing in groves of date palms. It has to be harvested by hand."
	"Garbage is everywhere mixed with dirt. It's in Maadi and it's in the country too. The people tell us the national bird is the flying plastic bag. The garbage collection trucks in the area we live are merely pickups with cardboard along the sides to make the bed hold a higher load."
	The British occupied Egypt for 80 years (up until 1952) and have planted in Maadi so many flowering trees and shrubs. It is delightful to walk down a street with flowering trees arching over the road-- until they begin to lose their blossoms which fall on your clothes and leave a stain. And the Holly Hocks seem to grow everywhere. Some get really tall, 10' or so, where they get more water.
	The entrance to Nancy's favorite bakery. "The Taylors are not learning the Arabic words very fast: too many sounds to make that are difficult to reproduce. Here we are in a land that speaks Arabic and our Church meetings are held in English because 99% of the members here speak English. If there were more members that spoke Arabic we could use the two languages. We do have a Sunday School class in Arabic, but that is all.