Seeking Art but Found Bread

Security Alert: The Embassy has sent out a weekend security notice. "There is no information at this time suggesting possible protest activity directed against the Embassy over the weekend." "However, the... community should continue to maintain strong situational awareness... Media sources are reporting the release earlier this week of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad by a French magazine that could spark protest activity, particularly against French interests in the region." So far have only heard via CNN about protests in Islamabad related to the anti-Islam video. Good Bread: Since I was between appointments and had finished responding to inquiries from the press (Tribune Local, Glen Ellyn Patch, Naperville Sun), I decided to visit a couple of art galleries today, only to find that they were closed. No wonder no one answered my phone calls. However, I used the opportunity to explore the neighborhood, which is upscale by Cairo standards.

I found a bakery with really good bread. White buns and croissants, so not exactly healthy. However, I had tired of peanut butter on a version of whole wheat baladi (pita) bread. Other processed loaves were the Egyptian version of Wonder Bread. So, this will be a welcome treat. Since traffic is so hectic here in Cairo, I walked back to my apartment in Garden City (the embassy district) via Tahrir and Qasr el-Aini Street. I saw the previous campus of the American University in Cairo (AUC), where I studied Arabic several decades ago. It was developed around a palace (that of Khairy Pasha) and constructed in the neo-Mamluk architectural style with landscaped grounds covering several acres. I'm glad I had the privilege of attending the old campus. The new campus in New Cairo, far removed from downtown, is a Disneyesque version of modern Arab architecture, complete with all the latest in educational technology. A man was standing on a curb, shouting, and gesturing toward the sky by the corner Hardee's close to the campus. However, this could have been Times Square with a few changes of character. Right next to the university is also the wall that has been blocked off so protesters can't access the U.S. Embassy from Tahrir Square. So I took my personal photo of the wall (posted here). Qasr el-Aini Street is one that starts at Tahrir, goes past AUC, all the way through Garden City, and close to my apartment building.

I passed The Shoura (Consultative) Assembly building (see photo). There were guards but none seemed very vigilant. No one noticed my picture-taking. A march with banners was taking place in the street nearby. This is the Egyptian bicameral parliament's upper chamber and less powerful. The lower house has been suspended. The Supreme Constitutional Court is set to issue a decision soon on whether even The Shoura Assembly has been properly elected. The weather is a few degrees cooler than the hottest of summer; and I could stock up on supplies (chocolate, bananas, medicine, etc.). All on the one street. Taxis were in line at one petrol station, a reminder of the fuel shortage hitting the country. The cash-deprived government can't pay its foreign energy producers, who then restrict the supply driving up the cost of gasoline in Egypt. Men were gathering to visit and smoke shisha at a few open air cafés. Finally, I was at the pharmacy on the street, which marks the turnoff to the curved streets in Garden City that lead to the Belmont building, the one I live in. The building gets its moniker from a large advertisment for Belmont cigarettes, which used to be on the roof. This was Cairo's second skyscraper built in 1958. Naoum Shebib was the architect structural engineer, and contractor as he was for the city's first high-rise. Eventually, I'm home.