Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Another monastery

I don't remember the name of this one. It is also in Wadi Natrun and this one has a kind of Seminary and there were a lot of visitors. The drive up to the gate is really pretty, lined with tall Eucalyptus trees that smelt so good and flowers. Wow, flowers? That's very unusual in the desert. The inside structures are adobe and looked like Arizona or New Mexico. The bathroom was another story, the old squat toilets that were filthy. I almost burnt my pants.... I went back to the hotel room and stuffed them into a plastic bag and washed them at home. It was that filthy. Warning, warning...... for other visitors.






















































There was a service going on and they were chanting in Coptic.


















































The living quarters.
































































On the way back to Cairo, we passed this truck loaded with bananas. They grow their own and it is very heartening to see how the great Nile supports so many people since like eternity, since the days of the Pharaohs.
Our trip is drawing to a close. On the way we passed a lot of new housing developments and shopping malls. Our taxi driver has a brother who lives in one of these new housing developments and he wanted to stop to visit him. I said, no, it was late and I really wanted to get back to Cairo, to pack and get ready to leave the next morning. While I love being away, I also love coming home.


















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