Circus in Cairo

It has been a long while since I have been to a circus. The word “circus” conjures up memories from childhood of swinging acrobats, tigers, lions and of course clowns.

The National Circus at Agouza has all this and more. The tickets priced at LE 50, 30 and 20 are reasonable and worth the amount. If you are buying the LE 50 tickets, then you will get a ringside view of the fun, but the LE 30 seats are good too and probably best to enjoy the proceedings.

As usual, the circus starts with a clown act and then in come the acrobats, jugglers and magicians. The magic show is particularly good. Though most of it is something that has been seen before, but watching it “live” is awe inspiring anyways. The best magic act for me was when the magician poured water into the folds of the newspaper, then opened it and voila, there was no water. Immediately, his assistant brought over a glass to him and this time when he tilted the newspaper, water flowed into the glass. Magic? Of course! The act that got the loudest ovation was when he took three strips of cloth and turned it into the Egyptian flag!.

The acrobats truly dazzle with their “balancing” act. A man lying on his back with his legs 90 degrees and balancing a ladder on his feet-so far so good!. Then a woman comes and gets onto the ladder and climbs right to the top rung and performs a number of acrobatic acts at the top. All the while, the man is balancing the ladder and the woman; while the woman is balancing herself and performing the acts at such a height.

The finale was with six lions and three tigers. They were a delight to watch. A particularly lazy and recalcitrant lion was the butt of the ringmaster’s whip on a number of occasions – this had us wincing and would surely raise the hackles of the animal rights activists. Nevertheless, it is indeed a wonder to watch such ferocious animals all docile and at such close quarters.

Definitely, a recommended outing for the whole family! And just to sweeten the deal, you can also get yourself photographed with a small cub! (who has probably been sedated)

P.S. I had forgotten to take my camera, not expecting much. Just for this, I will make a return trip to the circus

Counterfeit Money

I have been frequenting the branch of Al Shabrawy on the 26th of July street in downtown for a couple of weeks now. Imagine my shock when one day, the cashier approached my friend and me and told us that the 20 pound note that we had our bill with the previous day was a counterfeit.!

My friend was pretty calm about it and just took the counterfeit note and gave him another 20 pound note. I later learnt that she had had such experiences earlier and the LE 20 pound note is particularly susceptible to being a counterfeit. This had me worried and in my quest to know how to recognize a counterfeit note, I tumbled upon this great site that details what one should look for to scertain that one has a “real” note. The site is http://www.moiegypt.gov.eg/english/Departments+Sites/PublicFunds/SecurityFeatures/LE20/

It details clearly the security features that one needs to look into a LE 5, LE 10, LE 20, LE 50, LE 100 and a LE 200 note.

The nest time you exchange money, you might want to look out for these features.

Sit-down business lunches

Last week, hubby attended two business conferences in some of the big names in the hospitality industry-the Semiramis Intercontinental and the Four Seasons. The peculiar thing was that both the breakfast and the lunch were served in the dining room as sit-down meals. Usually, at business conferences elsewhere, the meals are served in the buffet as it gives an opportunity to the participants to network, secondly it is faster and definitely convenient too. The sit-down affairs are more drawn out and make it very difficult to network. Of course, there is less wastage and the quantity of food that is served can be regulated since there is no possibility of “second helping”.

Am trying to find out if hubby’s experiences with sit-down lunches was an exception or is this the way things usually happen in Cairo?

ARABS GONE WILD

Attended the “performing to a packed house” Comedy Box Productions’ “Arabs Gone Wild” and it was a laugh riot. The best acts were in Arabic, though. People were laughing so hard at the jokes in Arabic that I have a feeling that I missed the best lines. Nevertheless, it was still a very enjoyable performance.

I particularly liked Ronnie Khalil for his take on the experiences of an American-Egyptian, visiting Cairo-from the traffic situation to engaging a cab to attending the never-ending “family dinners”. Dean Obeidallah, a US resident and raised by a Palestinian father and a Sicilian mother gave a hilarious account of the stereotypes associated with Mexicans, Italians, Egyptians etc. When he introduces himself as a Palestinian, he is confronted first with a silence that lasts for 5 seconds and then the response “tough situation”.

Maysoon Zayid, Sherif Hedayat and George Azmy brought the house down with laughter with their spoofs on Arab stereotypes. Aaron Kader, whom I had earlier seen as part of the “Axis of Evil” act was superb too.

The shows were performed at the Cairo International Conference Centre in Nasr City. The centre is equipped with parking facilities for 1200 cars and the organizers of the show had thoughtfully provided mini-vans to transport the audiences from the parking lot to the hall. The hall, with a seating capacity of 2500 was packed, with just a few spare seats.

After Eight

“After Eight” is a nice little pub in downtown. The exterior is not inspiring at all. The pub is at the end of an alley and at the entrance to the alley, there is a hoarding with the name “After Eight” in cursive handwriting. Below the hoarding, there is a “paan-beedi” kind of shop. Since it had rained the evening previous to our outing, there were puddles of water too. Not very encouraging and welcoming! I looked at my friend; she had frequented the place before and looked back confidently at me... and we plunged ahead…..and am glad I did!

The place is quite popular; for a long time, our group members were the only guests and I was wondering whether it would remain that way. Soon, people started pouring in and by the time we left, all the tables were taken and there was “standing room” only.

The place is very dimly lit. There is a bar in the corner and a DJ station behind the small, raised dance floor. The DJ started out with some slasa numbers and immediately the dance enthusiasts took to the floor. The Karaoke session had many takers too. The enthusiasm of the patrons to take a shot at singing was contagious and I impulsively let my friend propose my name for the song “Hotel California”-because that is the first song that came to my mind since I had been listening to it in the car. Of course, I immediately had second thoughts and begged and pleaded with my friend to get back the request paper but to no avail. Everyone was singing like a professional and my tension was mounting…every time a song would end, I would hold my breath and wait for the axe to fall-i.e. for my name to be called out. But I lucked out!-my friend had forgotten to mention the code number for the song and so the request was invalid.

Did not catch any grub there but saw platters of food being brought to the other tables. People were doing some “serious” eating ….so the food should be good. Their cocktail menu seems innovate though I did not much like the “After Eight” cocktail that I had ordered. It seemed like I was having “Pudin Hara”-for the uninitiated-Pudin Hara is a mint digestive used extensively in India.

Regretfully, we had to leave at the “witching hour” but it seemed as if the party had just begun….the place was getting smokier, louder, noisier ….will definitely go back!

And if you are wondering how you will you manage to get parking near the pub, there is some good news. Paid parking is available a little ahead of the pub on the opposite side. The charges are around LE 1/minute -at least the car will be safe!

Cover charge: LE 40
Address: 6, Kasr El Nile Street, Downtown

“Egyptian sexual harasser jailed” – I was heartened to read this! The victim, Ms Noha Oustath, bravely went public about her harassment and pursued the matter. This has resulted in the conviction of the harasser with three years’ rigorous punishment being awarded to him. You can read all about it on http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7682951.stm

Earlier this month, during the Eid holidays, there had been a disturbing incident of a group of men sexually harassing some women in Mohandisseen on Gamaet-al-Dwal al arabiya street Later, in an incident outside the Metro Cinema in downtown, two women were groped and attempt also made to tear off their clothing.

More details on http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=17001

Violence against women is prevalent in every country-some are highlighted and some incidents never come to light because of the reluctance of the victim to speak about the crime. Their reticence is understandable because most of the people, including the victim themselves, would blame the women for provoking the attack. In the case of Noha Oustath too, she was advised by the people who were a witness to her ordeal to forget about the matter and not go to the police.

A well-defined law pertaining to sexual harassment, providing for a framework for the victims to report the harassment and punish the perpetrators, is a pre-requisite to combat this phenomenon. Even then, the prejudices against women-it is the way a woman dresses and her attitude that incites such harassment-will limit the chances of reporting and conviction.

The magic that is Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan saved yet another day for us in Egypt. Over the week-end, we had gone to Dahab, a laidback beach resort on the Red Sea. And the most oft repeated word that we heard on our drive to and fro to Dahab was “Amitabh Bachchan”. At every check post (and boy! were there many!), when the officials learnt that we were from India, the first thing that they would ask us is whether we knew Amitabh Bachchan. And with a request to pass on their regards to the Big B, we would be waved through. It was as if the words “Amitabh Bachchan” were the magic words that put us above any kind of suspicion. To hear the Big B’s name spoken of with such fondness and adulation in the Sinai desert was a revelation of the reach of cinema and the magic that is Amitabh Bachchan. Moreover, the cafes at the petrol pumps also had their television sets tuned to Hindi movies starring Amitabh Bachchan and sub-titled in Arabic.

To hear the Big B’s famous dialogues from the movie “Hum” while I waited for my turn to go to the washroom at a Mobinil petrol station in the town of Nakhl (middle of the Sinai) felt unreal but at the same time also made my chest puff up with pride. You are a real hero, Big B!

Cairo Grand Hyatt Hotel bans sale of alcohol

Received a mail from a friend that reads as follows:-

“The Grand Hyatt Hotel in Cairo has banned the sale of alcohol from the beginning of May, earlier this week. Though discussions are continuing between the Hotel chain and the owner, no drinks are served at any of the hotel’s restaurants or bars.”

I found it very strange because Cairo is the most liberal of all Muslim cities and alcohol is served in most hotel establishments in the city. The owner of Grand Hyatt is a sheikh from Saudi Arabia and he has banned the sale of alcohol on the hotel premises on the grounds that consumption of alcohol is forbidden under Islam.

Read on http://www.metimes.com/Politics/2008/05/02/saudi_sheikh_bans_alcohol_at_cairo_grand_hyatt_hotel/afp/

I have stayed in Khobar, Saudi Arabia for three years and all the five star hotel chains there have to adhere to the diktat of “no sale” of alcohol. In fact, sale or consumption of alcohol in Saudi Arabia is a punishable offence. However, to find a similar ban in a luxury restaurant in a city like Cairo is surprising and definitely puts Grand Hyatt at a disadvantage vis-à-vis the other luxury hotels.

It remains to be seen whether the ban will continue in the face of reduced business to the Grand Hyatt or whether the luxury chain is able to prevail over the owner to lift the ban.