Townhouse Art Gallery and Pastries

The Seven Billionth Citizen: Townhouse Gallery, off Talaat Harb Circle, is showing an exhibit by this name. The world's seven billionth citizen was born on October 31, 2011, according to an announcement by the United Nations. Seven collaborators, representing the arts and social sciences, from the world's five major population zones displayed video projections on large canvasses. They sought to capture the strangeness of the moment and engage with the sublime, "describing a relation of perception, between mind and a universe of daunting scale." They wanted to reflect on the impossibility of truly comprehending even that which is thoroughly measured by science. Certainly made me introspective.

Atelier: Nearby was a place called the Workshop (Atelier) showing works of expressionist art, ceramics, jewelry, and other crafts. It was fun watching people in the neighborhood and felt a bit like being in downtown Chicago–a lot of diversity. Smart shops on a main street (Talaat Harb, founder of the Bank of Egypt), small outdoor cafés with men smoking shisha or playing backgammon (one woman in a back row) lining the smaller lanes. I took to an elegant corner patisserie (named Al Abd) selling all types of pastries, small cookies, and ice cream cones. I had to take home a couple boxes of treats. Women in the area were attired all in black, in black dress with African affects, in what any European or North American female would wear, and in colorful clothes with the hijab. Young women often wear quite suggestive outfits usually with the headscarf. It seems that once they're married with children, more conservative dress takes over.

Unexpected and Unwanted Charm Offensive: My cabbie for the trip home was a modern day representative of Gamal Abdul Nasser exuding tons of charm. I could feel it radiating outward, conveying itself throughout the front seat. I had gotten in the front, as another passenger was soon to exit the back. He was really handsome and dressed in a short-sleeve white shirt and light pants. He offered me a cigarette, which I declined. What I could understand of his Arabic indicated that he liked American women, who he said were thinner than Egyptian woman (in his perception). Took a longer way home; it did prove to avoid heavier traffic. On the way, a truck swiped and scraped his side mirror. When he wanted to go a different way on a freeway exit, he just backed up. Many taxi drivers do this, as police surveillance is basically nonexistent. A lot of small talk; and then he said we could go to Sharm al-Sheikh together. I said I'd been there. So he suggested Alexandria. Good thing I was finally home. Usually no one pays that much attention to me. I guess here was an unmarried man who wanted a vacation.

Zar: Tonight, I attended a Zar at Makan (means Place in Arabic) - The Egyptian Center for Culture and Art. It's walkable from my apartment. Now basically a cultural, musical event, the Zar (the word means visit) is a trance religious ceremony, still practiced a bit in Upper Egypt, that uses drumming, flute playing, singing, and dancing to cure an illness thought to be caused by a demon. The lady you see at the center of this photo was the star of the show. The Zar is not an "exorcism," as the spirit is not intended to be removed from the body. The main purpose of the animal sacrifice is appease a deity and to secure its favor. There was no animal sacrifice in this performance, although a friendly cat appeared startled at the suggestion. I went with some friends and had a fun night out.