Will the Revolution in Egypt ever end?

When I arrived in Egypt in 2007 President Hosni Mubarak was in power and had been for a VERY long time.

Many Egyptians didn't have work; health care and education were not good, if they existed at all, for a large proportion of the population; wages were exceptionally low for those with jobs (unless they were in high level jobs - which needed a good education - where salaries could be quite excessive); freedom of speech was discouraged and could land you in a lot of trouble; freedom of movement around the country was curtailed (it was almost impossible for an Egyptian to get into a tourist area unless he had a job, family or business there or was rich enough to afford to actually stay in one of the tourist hotels). The wealthy and well-pain would tell you that Egypt was a 'free country' but that was not the reality for the majority of the population.

On the other hand petrol and diesel were REALLY cheap (in 2007 I paid LE1.25 per litre for petrol - at the time around £0.13 Sterling) as were bread, food and local transport.

There was an amazingly large gap between rich and poor with the rich getting richer and the poor not moving at all.

People wanted change. They wanted an end to government corruption and a better life for themselves and their children. In short, they wanted a better share of the cake, better health care, better education, better job prospects. They also wanted to live their lives the way THEY want to live and not the way the government decided they should live. They wanted the freedom to go wherever they wanted in THEIR OWN country when they wanted. They also viewed the corruption of the past within the government as a form of stealing from the masses and they wanted this money returned to the general population.

Who can blame them?

So, against all the odds and risking imprisonment or worse for actually airing their views, which would be seen as anti-Mubarak and carry heavy penalties, they actually got themselves organised to form a demonstration in Tahrir Square.

They used social networking and mobile phones to organise themselves and finally they all got together in key areas like Tahrir Square in Cairo and the main streets of Alexandria. It is noteworthy at this time that Mubarak's government managed to cut off all external communications. The internet in Egypt was down for several days (by order of the government) and mobile phones could only make strictly local (i.e. within the same town) calls. No international calls could be made or received neither could any calls between the cities. SMS was also restricted to local recipients. If your friend travelled to another city you could no longer call him/her!!!

However, the rest is history now. Mubarak was toppled.

Then followed a strange sort of hiatus. The military took control but promised free and fair elections while the wheels of democracy were supposedly built and honed ready for the New Egypt to emerge. The mood was expectant.

This was a strange time. No-one liked the ruling military council but could not see any other way. However, every time they made any decision at all there would be new demonstrations in the streets and squares of the major cities. Fortunately, the tourist areas remained quiet.

Sadly, however, the pictures on the international news channels discouraged potential tourists from coming to Egypt - they simply found other places to go. During the revolution itself many countries actually evacuated all their nationals and halted all flights to Egypt until some form of 'normality' was restored.

This was exceptionally painful for the very large number of Egyptians working in tourism. Many of the hotels and tourist centres closed and the staff in other hotels were being laid off without pay.

So, the poor just got even poorer.

Nonetheless, people were optimistic. Elections were planned and they were sure that once these elections were over the tourists would come flooding back and they would see a new era dawning.

It became obvious quite early on to the educated (who took advantage of the fact) and to outsiders that many Egyptians simply did not understand the democratic election process. In the early elections for the Lower House a large proportion of the population turned out to vote. The campaign had, from a foreign point of view, been quite interesting with all the candidates adopting a unique symbol - an aeroplane, an iron, a cup of coffee, a palm tree, a jeep, a food mixer, etc. The reason was, on reflection, quite obvious. With such high levels of illiteracy how could people know whose name to check on the ballot paper without a symbol to help them.

The wealthy and the organised (like the Salafis or Muslim Brotherhood) encouraged everyone to vote but did not seem to interfere too much in persuading them who to vote for.

Then came the elections for the Upper House. Again there was a high turn out but with slightly more pressure from the wealthy and the organised about who to vote for.

It came as no surprise when the Muslim Brotherhood gained a large proportion of the seats in both houses but it did worry some as there was much talk about the imposition of Sharia Law in Egypt.

Tourists DID NOT come like before. The people were very disappointed. Some hotels managed to re-open but by no means all. The increasing tourism of previous years meant that many hotels were under construction - this work stopped now. There were no more jobs and people were no better off than before - in fact many people found themselves worse off.

But Egyptians are nothing if not optimistic. They would often say to anyone who asked that Sharia Law cannot happen here because the people won't let it. And they prayed for tourism to increase at least to former levels. They would then tell you that the coming year would be a good one and people will always come back to Egypt.

Unfortunately it seems they were wrong. Tourism in the first quarter of 2012 was only 25% of the tourism in the same period of 2011. We must remember here that the revolution effectively cancelled ALL tourism for 6 weeks of the first quarter of 2011 and that overall tourism in 2011 was down by 32% on 2010 levels. You don't need to be a member of MENSA to realise that business in 2012 was VERY poor indeed. In fact, local Egyptian newspapers recently described the tourism industry here as being on the verge of collapse.

Many people did not get their jobs back, as they had hoped, and hotels did not re-open en masse.

Rather, more pain and suffering was inflicted on the people of Egypt. Since the presidential elections there is a fuel shortage. The result of this where I am living is that you can only buy petrol or diesel twice a week and the price has rocketed. There have been reports of retailers charging more than LE4 per litre against the LE1.25 of before. The bottles of butane gas used for cooking were previously LE7 to exchange. However, with the present shortage you can only find butane once a week and can be charged up to LE100 for the same exchange. There is a lack of fuel for the local power station which means that there are regular blackouts in the town.

Increased fuel costs can only mean one thing. The cost of EVERYTHING goes up. So everything is more expensive now but incomes have gone down. It's a case of the poor now being much poorer than before which is not what they bought into during the revolution.

But they hang on in there for the day when the tourists will come back.

Personally I don't see this happening yet because the revolution doesn't really seem to be over.

We still have large crowds in Tahrir Square, on the streets of Alexandria and the key cities of Ismalia, Port Said and Suez mounting protests at anything and everything that they believe restricts their freedoms or impoverishes them further. Only a few days ago there was a major riot which resulted in President Morsi declaring a State of Emergency in Ismalia, Port Said and Suez following several deaths related to the demonstrations there.

The problem here is that the violent clashes and deaths in these far-flung but important cities are NEWSWORTHY. This is what people around the world see on their TV screens or social media and hear on their radios. These are the images that stick in their minds. This is what they think about when they are sitting comfortably in their lounge at home or in the travel agent's shop trying to book their holiday. With all this in on your mind would you really book a holiday to Egypt?

The answer is obviously a resounding "NO" because people are simply NOT coming here.

Those who have already been during more peaceful times and understand the lie of the land are contacting their friends living here and actually asking us if it's safe in the local area. I live in a touristic area and IT IS SAFE HERE - PLEASE DO COME. Nothing bad will happen to you here.

On the other hand I think it is clear to the whole international community that the revolution in Egypt is far from over yet.

I support the Egyptian people in their dreams for themselves and their families. They deserve to experience real personal freedoms with good education and healthcare for all, affordable food and housing and many of the other enviable benefits they perceive that those outside Egypt enjoy.

But if they are relying on tourism to boost the jobs available and their household incomes then they really need to bring the revolution to a close so that the pictures on the TV screens around the world are of a peaceful and stable Egypt. Then the tourists WILL come back.

After all, EGYPT HAS IT ALL - culture, sunshine, the Red Sea, a beautiful desert. It is an ideal place to relax and enjoy some time away from the rat-race faced by many in other countries.

So, when will this happen? Who can say? I certainly can't but I do hope it will be VERY SOON.

     ________________________________________________________________________

For those interested in statistics and more technical information please continue reading.

TOURISM STATISTICS

Year	Number of Tourists	Income from Tourism	Notes
2008	12.8million	$11billion
2009	11.9million	$10.5billion
2010	14million	$11.5billion
2011	10million	$9billion	Revolution started in January and "ended" in February

NOTES

Official reports and statistics show tourism fell by 32% in 2011 following the revolution. However, businesses working within tourism reported a much larger decline. They suggest that official figures were propped up by counting all the Libyans, Sudanese and Palestinians who fled to Egypt during crises in their own countries and that they are not really part of the normal tourism.

This problem arises because when calculating the official figures the authority responsible for collecting the information (the Central Authority for Public Mobilization and Statistics) relies on data from airports and border controls. This means that ANY non Egyptian who enters the country with a visa (which can usually be purchased at the point of entry) is considered a tourist.

Tourists from Europe and Russian have always been the mainstay of the industry in Egypt and 2011 saw these figures fall quite dramatically. For example, tourists from Europe accounted for 11.1million of the 14million visitors inn 2010. This figure dropped to 7.2million in 2011, down by 35%.

Calculations of tourist spending shows that the average dropped from $85 per tourist per day in 2010 to just $72 per tourist per day in 2011. Coupled with the decrease in the number of tourists this had a significant financial impact on the industry.

Many directly involved in the industry at high levels claim that the situation would have been very much worse were it not for the fact that during 2011 prices were slashed quite dramatically throughout the country.

Egypt earns most of its foreign currency from tourism with contributions via remittances from Egyptians living abroad and revenues from the Suez Canal. The steep decline in tourism returns in 2011 saw the foreign currency reserves halved to just $18billion by the end of the year.

Even the Tourism Minister, Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, is concerned about the ongoing situation and is quoted as saying, "The impact of the revolution has been dramatic on tourist inflow and on the level of prices".

Figures for 2012 are not yet available. Official figures for the 1^st quarter showed tourism down 25% on 2011. Hoteliers throughout the Red Sea are reporting average occupancy rates for 2012 as between 45% and 50% with some hotels having closed completely. Other official surveys have highlighted that during 2012 the average daily spend for those tourists who did come was only $50 per day.

ELECTION PROCESS IN EGYPT

Extracts courtesy of Wikipedia:

THE LOWER HOUSE - People's Assembly

Turnout was between 62% and 65%

The election was conducted under a parallel voting system. Two-thirds of seats were elected by party-list proportional representation. The remaining one-third were elected under a form of bloc voting in two-seat constituencies.

The election to the People's Assembly took place on the following dates:^[17]

·                    first stage: 28–29 November, run-off on 5–6 December;

·                    second stage: 14–15 December, run-off on 21–22 December;

·                    third stage: 3–4 January, run-off on 10–11 January.

There are a total 508 seats in the Lower house: 498 seats are elected, and 10 seats appointed, in this case, by the Military Council, and usually by the President.

Under the parallel voting system used, out of 498 total seats, two-thirds, meaning 332, were elected by means of party list proportional representation. For these seats the public voted for parties or coalition-lists and the result was determined by the largest remainder method with a 0.5 percent threshold, in 46 districts.

The remaining 166 seats were elected by bloc voting in two-seat constituencies, with the possibility of a run off. In the election voters each cast two votes, which could not be for the same individual. 

[Author's note: Rules were introduced to ensure that farmers and labourers were included in the process and achieved seats in the People's Assembly.  Organised political parties had to field at least 1 woman candidate.]

THE UPPER HOUSE - Shura Council

Turnout was around 12.2% with many citizens boycotting the election citing it as a waste of time.

At the time of the election the Shura Council had 270 seats, of which 90 were appointed and 180 elected. Of the 180 elected seats, 60 were elected by majority voting in single-member constituencies, and 120 by proportional representation based on the total number of votes cast in the constituencies. Voting was compulsory for men, with a potential £20 fine for non-voters.

Party lists had to include at least one woman candidate, and had to pass a 0.5% electoral threshold to win a proportional representation seat. For the constituency seats, candidates were required to win over 50% of the vote and for there to be either a farmer or worker elected from their constituency in order to be elected in the first round. Run-offs would be when no candidate won over 50% of the vote in a constituency, and in cases where two candidates achieved over 50%, but neither of them were workers or farmers, the candidate with the highest number of votes would be declared elected, and a run-off held between the highest ranking workers and farmers.

 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Turnout around 43%.

The presidential election was a two-tier process. After the first round if no candidate had achieved more than 50% of the vote there would be a run-off between the two leading candidates.

  

The first round took place on 23 and 24 May 2012. There was no clear winner from the first round so there would have to be a run-off between the leading candidates; Mohamed Mursi (Muslim Brotherhood) and Ahmed Shafiq (former Senior Commander in the Air Force and interim Prime Minister from 31 January 2011 to 3 March 2011 appointed by Mubarak in response to the uprising).

The final result was very close with 51.7% recorded for Mohamed Mursi and 48.3% for Ahmed Shafiq. To this day there are those who still believe the election was somehow 'rigged'.

A very large proportion of the population refrained from voting because they did not believe either candidate was suitable to be their President.

OK - how many of you actually use a map before you travel?

I only ask because.....

I am working at a dive centre in the south of Egypt. Recently we received a very nice email from someone advising us that he and his family would be staying in a nearby hotel for their holiday and explaining that they want to do some diving. This person gave me an idea of the certification levels and experience of the divers and stated that there would be some children with the group who would want to go on the boat with them. He then asked a series of questions. At first the questions seemed quite simple:

Can you collect us from our hotel?
Answer - Yes, it's only 5 minutes away.

Do you offer boat diving?
Answer - yes we do. Our boat is moored in a Marina about 30 minutes by road from the dive centre.

Can children come on the boat with us?
Answer - Of course, no problem.

And so on. These are quite normal questions that a lot of people ask.

Then we hit a problem.

We had special requests for sites they would like to visit. This is very common and the examples I have used here were not all from this one source but are common queries from over the last months. It starts with, "can we visit" or, "which day do you go to" followed by a name of a well-known dive site. In the last year these have included:

Thistlegorm
Dunraven
Brothers Islands
Samaday (Dolphin House)
Daedalus

And more.

So here are a few facts that convince me the people who ask did not look at a map first. I believe they have researched diving in the Red Sea with searches such as "dive red sea" and come up with the prime candidates. They have then booked the holiday without making sure they are staying at least somewhere near their desired dive site. So, here is some information that can be found quite quickly on the internet or by using a map/Google Earth.  First a map of Egypt:

If you look closely you will see that El Quseir (also spelt Qusayr or Kosseir) can be found on the map between the 'e' and 'd' of the word 'Red' in the 'Red Sea'.

Now here's a map of the key dive sites:

And this is what I found out:

The distance from the Mediterranean Sea to the border between Egypt and Sudan is approximately 1024kms at the longest point.

The distance from the Mediterranean Sea to El Quseir is approximately 650kms which means the distance to our dive centre is approximately 670kms and to the port where our boat is moored it is approximately 710kms.

The Thistlegorm, Dunraven and Brothers Islands all lie to the north of us. The Thistlegorm is approximately 220kms away, the Dunraven 210kms away in the Ras Mohamed National Park near Sharm El Sheikh and the Brothers Islands approximately 60kms. To get to any of these sites using our boat you have to add 40kms from the port to the dive centre. 

Our day boat is good by Egyptian standards and has a cruising speed of approximately 9knots or around 17kph. Therefore, assuming we run the engine for long stretches of time at maximum cruising speed the time needed to reach these sites would be 15 hours; 14½ hours; and 6 hours respectively. That, of course, is ONLY to GET THERE. There is the same journey back to base afterwards. It therefore becomes obvious that we cannot do these trips with a day boat.

Daedalus and Samaday are both to the south of us so I can take the distance directly from the marina instead of the dive centre. Daedalus is around 140kms or 8 hours away while Samaday is about 68kms or 4 hours and is by far the nearest. But it's still 8 hours of boat travel to get there and back.  Add in the road transfers, setting up diving equipment, 2 dives and a surface interval with lunch and even for here you have a 14 hour day!!!!!!!!!

So it's better, when you come to the Red Sea to dive to either:

Decide on the sites you wish to visit first THEN find accommodation nearby

OR

Decide on your destination then check out the local dive sites (e.g. type in 'dive quseir').

It saves a lot of hassle and frustration later.

BUT IT IS NOT ONLY DIVERS WHO NEED TO CHECK A MAP.

When I was working as a Tour Leader/Rep I would collect my guests from the airport in Hurghada (also in the Red Sea) during a Friday evening. I take them to the hotel, get them checked in and tell them where to get dinner and breakfast.

The next morning I would hold my welcome meeting. I would start out by introducing myself (again - many guests would be almost comatose with such a long day travelling when they arrived) and welcoming them to Hurghada - one of the major cities in Egypt, a country that straddles two continents with Sinai being in Asia and the rest of the country in Africa. I would show them this on a map.

At this point there would usually be someone who would complain. They would complain that they did not know when they booked their holiday that they would be arriving in a 3rd world continent. They did not know that Hurghada was in Egypt and even if they did they did not know that Egypt is in Africa.

Why didn't they know this?

Because no-one told them (and I suspect they never asked while they booked the holiday).

Personally, I just don't understand how anyone can set off from home for a 4 hour flight and not even know which country they are going to land in. I had the impression they expected to end up  at Brighton in the sun in some long lost part of the UK.

Still, perhaps it's a lesson learned and they WILL use a map next time.

By the way, I have been in Egypt for 5½ years now and it really is very civilized.

A case of MISREPRESENTATION or simply DESCRIPTIVE LICENCE?

Is this MISREPRESENTATION or just DESCRIPTIVE LICENCE?

Imagine this. You are thinking about next year's holiday and you feel you want to guarantee some sun and warm weather. After all, if you're from nothern Europe it's pretty cold and dark right now so the thought of sunshine is VERY appealing.

You check out the brochures and decide to come to Egypt.

You find a hotel you like the look of, the price is right and you think you know where the hotel is. After all it tells you in the brochure. Maybe you're in Hurghada, for example. You check out Hurghada on the internet and decide it's the sort of place you'd like to spend your time.

You go ahead and book. You wait. The day finally arrives for you to travel. You are exccited. The day travelling tires you out but you finally land at the destination airport, board the transfer coach and arrive at your hotel. The hotel is fine and lives up to all expectations. You felt the rush of heat from the tarmac when you got off the plane so the weather is also at least up to expectations if not beyond.

Your room is OK. It may not exactly match the picture in the brochure but there is certainly a room somewhere in the hotel that does. But you have a balcony with a nice view and the room is clean. You start to unpack then set off in search of the restaurant. You are very hungry.

The food is OK but not gourmet cuisine. Still what did you expect for a relatively cheap all-inclusive deal. You can at least find something along the buffet that you recognise or like the look of and it doesn't taste at all bad. You have dessert and then go in search of the "free" alcohol.

You find the bar and settle for a couple of hours before retiring to bed. It has been an exceptionally long day and you are exhausted.

The next day you wake late, have breakfast and determine to check out the local town. After all, you booked a hotel in Hurghada right (or Safaga or Quseir or Marsa Alam etc)?

WRONG.

This is where it all goes tits up (if you'll pardon the expression). When I was working as a Resort Rep (Tour Leader) in Hurghada one of the most frequent complaints was, "we booked this hotel because it's supposed to be in Hurghada but there's nothing here".

The guests were right, so how come?

In this case the hotel was a 20 minute drive from Hurghada town centre. It cost LE2 (about €0.25/£0.20) on the local microbus (quite an experience if you haven't been in Egypt or somewhere else similar before. Also check out a previous blog - it can be quite a difficult and intimidating experience if you don't speak Arabic and know exactly where you want to go) or LE30 (about €3.75/£3.00) in the local taxi. You are, of course, encouraged to take the hotel limousine service. Don't be taken in by the name - you will not get a big stretched white limmo. This is just a normal car with a driver. This will cost you about €10. Everything in the hotels is priced in Euros and the Euro is the currency of choice at the moment in Egypt. However, they will readily also take Sterling and US Dollars.

This particular hotel was right on a main road which made getting a bus or a taxi relatively easy. There is also some development around it, including a decent sized mall with some good shops, coffee outlets and restaurants which gives an opportunity to shop for those who don't want to risk the local transport. The mall is a 5 minute walk away from this hotel.

Not all the hotels are as lucky.

So, were the guests misled by the brochure listing the hotel as being in Hurghada?

I currently work at a dive centre based in the grounds of the Pensee Azur/Utopia Beach hotels. We have a house reef that is arguably the best in the entire Red Sea. First, here is the truth about the hotel.

The Pensee Azur/Utopia Beach complex is approximatley 20km from the nearest town - a small place of 50,000 inhabitants called El Quseir. The nearest airport is 40km to the south and is called Marsa Alam International Airport. In fact, the airport is just outside a small place called Port Ghalib which is a new, man-made town on the edge of the desert. The Pensee Azur/Utopia Beach is about 120km north of Marsa Alam city (it's a small place and anywhere else would be called a village or, at best, a town).

In the brochures this hotel is listed as the Pensee Azur, MARSA ALAM!!!!!

Every day on my way to work I pass a construction site where a new hotel is being built. The board outside the site advertises the development of the Novotel MARSA ALAM yet it's 2km or 3km further away from Marsa Alam than the Pensee.

In this area the hotels really are remote. For example, the nearest neighbours to the Pensee/Utopia complex are at least 5km away. The hotel is on a main road (the main route from the north to Marsa Alam passing through Hurghada, Safaga, El Quseir and Port Ghalib) but there is no bus or taxis service on this road. Across the road is only desert.

In Hurghada the company I worked for got away with their description because along the main highway there are signs saying "Welcome to Hurghada" placed about 15km north of the city and again about 30km to the south. As the hotel lies between these 2 signs there is a argument, albeit a specious one, that the hotel is, in fact, in Hurghada.

This is not the case with the Pensee. There are signs saying "Welcome to Quseir". One is placed about 30kn to the north and the other about 35km to the south. Using the same logic as above we could, then, say that the hotel is in El Quseir so how can it be described as being in Marsa Alam.

Here is another ruse the travel companies are using. If your flight lands at Marsa Alam International Airport then automatically the hotel served by these flights is designated as being in Marsa Alam. But, don't forget, the airport is already 80km north of Marsa Alam itself.

Are you being lied to?

Only you can decide if you believe this to be a case of misrepresentation in the brochure or simply a case of descriptive licence.

It's up to you.

A Question of Eyebrows

To pluck or not to pluck, that is the question.....

I have always liked my thick eyebrows. When I was a teenager and we used a small brush with a block of mascara that we spat on before rubbing the brush along it to get enough black on the brush to colour our eyebrows and eyelashes, I used to put the mascara through my eyebrows to make them appear even darker and thicker. 

I was worried that having them plucked might result in something I didn't like very much. So, for 57  years I managed to avoid the experience.

Then, when I was working as a Tour Leader and living in a hotel the hairdresser made me an excellent offer of a day of real self-indulgence; haircut/colour, pedicure, manicure and eyebrow plucking using tweezers and something they do here with a twisted string to pull out  unwanted body hair. I was happy about everything EXCEPT the eyebrow bit. However, she was very persuasive and promised me I'd like the result so I let her go ahead. 

I cannot claim to have enjoyed the process. I found it EXTREMELY painful and any pain near my eyes and nose makes me sneeze so the whole event was not without its problems. However, she was right about the result.

I LOVED these eyebrows. She did a really good job. She managed to keep the same basic shape and length while clearing my eyelid making my eyes look bigger and doing wonders for my face. I made up my mind that I would let her do my eyebrows regularly. That was about 4 1/2 years ago.

However, soon after that I left the hotel because I left the travel company. I started work in a local dive centre and no longer had money for the luxury of eyebrow plucking. I promised to keep them in line myself but was so busy and physically tired after work each day that it never happened and after a while my eyebrows were almost back to their original glorious selves.

This positive experience had nonetheless changed my attitude towards the idea of having my brows plucked.

Then, about 4 years ago I became friends with a German lady who visits Egypt regularly at least twice a year. For a long time I did not know what her job was at home but then found out she is a hairdresser. When she visited Egypt last July and stayed with me in my flat she brought her hairdressing things with her and resolved to cut my hair for me. Working as a diver is very bad for the hair. It gets soaked in salt then dried in the scorching midday summer sun before being soaked once more in salt and dried out again. No matter how much it is washed and conditioned at the end of the day it still becomes brittle with lots of split ends. So, I let my friend cut my hair and I have to say it was excellent. I was very proud of my new style. She promised to come again and said that next time she would not only cut my hair but would do my eyebrows.

Hurray!!!

She came back about 3 weeks ago and once again stayed a few days with me in my flat. During this time she cut my hair again. She cut it shorter than last time but still managed to make it look fantastic.

Then came the eyebrows. She used a special tool to remove the excess hair (it seems the twisted cotton may be a particularly Egyptian thing) and I have to say it REALLY REALLY hurt. You cannot imagine the pain and it seemed like she would never stop. Even when I thought she had finished she found some more hair that needed to be plucked and started again. 

Sadly we did this in my living room where I did not have access to a mirror, otherwise I might have stopped here very early on. As it was I let her continue until she said she was finished.

Then, with a spring in my step and great expectations I hurried to the bathroom to have a look.

I was devastated!!!!!

My eyebrows are naturally long but she had shortened them my at least 1/4. There should be a smooth curve around my eye instead of which there were 2 straight lines at an angle as though the lashes went uphill from my nose to mid brow then downhill to a stubby end. She left all the thickness near the nose and almost no brow around the outer edge of my eye. She did not clear any hair from the underside of my eyebrow so the plucking had no effect on my eyelid therefore did nothing to make my eyes seem bigger or to open up my face. 

I HATE THEM.

She could see I was upset and tried to use mascara (the modern kind like a felt tip pen) to replace the missing hair but that looked so false I thought it better to go without.

She wanted to take a photo of my new hairstyle but I refused because I couldn't bear to appear with such dreadful eyebrows. In the end I changed the hairstyle preferring to pull the ends forwards over my face (rather than back) in an attempt to hide the terrible spectre of my mangled eyebrows.

She tried to reassure me that they would grow back but it's been 3 weeks now and, although there has been some improvement, they are still not as they should be. I hope I don't have to wait too long for a return to normal.

I did discuss the technique and outcome with her, showing her photos of what it looked like last time and describing how it had been done. Her reply was that the way she had done my brows was the way she was taught in Germany. So, I guess the way they are done may be a cultural thing.

The moral of this story would, therefore, appear to be to only get my eyebrows done here in Egypt by an Egyptian hairdresser.

I have the photos below - judge for yourselves.

My untended eyebrows - a bit bushy I accept but I like them.

My plucked eyebrows first time around. I LOVED these
eyebrows and hoped to have the same thing again.
This by the Egyptian hairdresser.

Three weeks after the recent plucking. Too fat near the nose,
too thin at the ends and not left long enough. I feel like I have
a couple of slugs living at the top of my nose. I HATE these
eyebrows and hope they grow back soon. It's been 3 weeks
already and they're still not right.

Why Not Convert to Islam?

Well, I have been living in a Muslim country for just over 5 years now so why not convert? 

Here is my attempt to explain why. In the writing I sincerely hope I do not upset anyone out there. It is not my intention to denigrate or insult any religion. I am only stating my own personal opinions. So here goes.

When I first arrived in Egypt I was working as a Tour Leader (Resort Rep for those English people out there) and it was plain for everyone to see that my time in Egypt would be limited. In this context the subject of religion was rarely raised.

However, after I left the travel company and decided to settle here to work as a diving instructor suddenly a lot of people wanted to talk to me about religion and, in particular, about the wonders of Islam.

I was brought up a Christian in the Church of England. I went to Sunday School and later to bible classes. I belonged to Brownies and Guides - organisations back then having roots in Christian practices. When I was older I joined a bible study group. Then, for many years my involvement waned considerably and occasionally, when I felt guilty, I would accompany my mother to church on a Sunday. I also worked for some time for a Christian charity that has links in the Catholic church. During this time I was able to reflect more on my personal beliefs. I am still committed to the basic ethics of Christianity but I do not believe I need the hierarchy of a church to enable my faith. Rather, I believe my faith is a personal issue between me and God and it something that I can practice/follow without the clergy. I therefore now describe my religion as Protestant rather than Church of England.

With this background, when people were constantly asking me what religion I have and then started talking about Islam I bought a translation of the Koran which I read. I cannot say I have read the Koran. Let's be quite clear. My Muslim friends will correct me if I say that. They say you can only read the Koran (Qu'ran) in the original Arabic being the language in which is was dictated by the Angel of God to the Prophet Mohamed. They will say that any translation by definition may place a different emphasis on the words used or may even use a translation that has a very slightly different meaning from the original so cannot be rightly called Koran. I am OK with this. The translation I read was the one backed by the Al Azhar University in Cairo which is considered to be one of the most prestigious seats of Islam so I am happy that I have certainly understood the gist of the writing.

The Koran is quite clear that Muslims should accept the "people of the book" or what they call here in Egypt the "divine religions" meaning Jews and Christians. So why do I need to be converted.

As one man put it (he was the accountant in the first dive centre where I worked) he most certainly accepted my Christianity but after Mohamed everyone is supposed to be Muslim because only by converting to Islam will I be able to enter into paradise.

I have to say he was quite persistent in his attempts and spent long hours during breaks and periods of little work trying to get me to change my mind. The Koran makes it clear we are supposed to be able to choose so I wondered a little at his persistence. I later found out that many Muslims believe that if a person converts to Islam and during the conversion ceremony (in Egypt this takes place in Cairo at Al Azhar Mosque where converts are received into the community of Islam with their new Islamic name that they have chosen for themselves) mentions their name as the reason for or as being instrumental to that person's conversion then they are guaranteed entry into paradise no matter what course their life has taken or what acts they may have committed or omitted. So, there is a strong personal interest in having a convert who will say that you are the reason for this change of faith.

Since then 5 more people have tried to convert me. One was a man I worked for who went so far as to bring me back leaflets in English from the mosque each week with titles such as "The Light of Islam" or "A Glimpse of Islamic Faith" or "Islam Religion of Life" or "The Concept of God in Islam" or "The True Religion of God" and so on - all of which I read to add to my knowledge of Islam. I'm sure you get the picture.

Even today yet another man seems to be trying to convert me but he is much more subtle. I started having private Arabic lessons because I felt ashamed that after 5 years here I still don't speak the language. We meet 2 times a week and we focus on reading and writing as well as speaking. At first it was pretty basic but more recently we seem to be moving towards something more. Not long ago he gave me a short piece of reading called, in translation, "honest work". Sounds OK but very soon we are into religion and how religion encourages a work ethic and the work carried out by the various prophets, including both Jesus and Mohamed. Another piece was about water and how much of the earth's surface it covers which seemed to move seamlessly into  a piece about God's creation of the world and all that's in it.

I have asked many questions about the place of women in Islam and am always reassured that women are equal with men and are free and empowered by Islam. Looking around me that doesn't seem to be the case at all but the argument is that much of the way the society here is structured and the way women's lives may seem to be restricted when looking from the outside is (a) cultural and not religious and (b) a misconception. The men who speak to me take pains to tell me the women's lifestyle is their own choice.

Certainly there are a lot of similarities between Islam and Christianity. So, with so many similarities accompanied by freedom and empowerment for women why not convert?

Here is why:

Although Muslims believe in the virgin birth they do not believe that Jesus was the son of God. In fact the Koran specifically says that God was not begotten and did not beget. However, as a Christian I firmly believe in Jesus as the son of God and the saviour of the world.

Muslims do not believe in the crucifixion/death/burial/resurrection of Jesus. They believe he was sentenced to crucifixion but that another was crucified in his place. That God caused this other person to take on the image of Christ so the crowds would think it was Jesus. They believe that Jesus was taken into paradise but this was not a resurrection. As a Christian I believe wholeheartedly in the crucifixion/death/burial/resurrection so I have some problems with the Islamic take on this.

So, while I can agree that both religions do have a great deal in common these are very significant differences that I cannot see my way to abandon. That is why I will continue with my Christianity in spite of the best efforts of those around me to convert.

Thank you for reading and God bless you all.

BIG BROTHER IS HERE – and I'm VERY SCARED!!!!!

Imagine this if you will. You are sitting in a train- or bus-station, or anywhere else you may have to wait a while, and there is a vending machine in front of you. You've been there for some time already and still have a bit to wait. You start to feel hungry and the chocolate bar on display just seems to be shouting out at you to "take me, take me". So, you get up and walk to the vending machine. Life is easy – you don't need money so you don't have to search for change or worry about the machine being able to give you change. The machine will read your implanted identification device and automatically take the cost of the chocolate bar from your bank account.

So, you key in the code for the chocolate bar.

Within seconds an automated voice says, "Sorry, we are unable to process your request. Your Body Mass Index exceeds the maximum for receipt of this item. As an alternative if you would like the apple, please press 1; for the banana press 2; or for the orange press 3. To cancel your request press 5 and return to your seat."

"FICTION", I hear you cry. Sadly, this may be FACT sooner than you think.

A Facebook friend yesterday posted something on my wall. It looked like  'just another evangelical message' but I decided to have a look anyway because something about it roused my curiosity.

The video was a pastor telling us we are on the verge of the end of times because very soon mankind will carry the mark of the beast as forseen in the book of Revelations. He was referring to Revelations Chapter 13 verse 13 onwards and linking this to some 'recent' legislation.

Well, you can call me sceptical but I didn't see the connection myself until I started to dig a bit deeper.

The legislation in question is a "little" thing called Obamacare and it would appear this was designed to be his signature piece of domestic work as President. Checking the text of 'Obamacare' (and there is a LOT of text – over 1000 pages) you first notice, of course, the title:

H. R. 3200

To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce

the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes.

Well, gee, I have to say I'd sign up for that straight away. Wouldn't you.? Sounds like just the ticket for a country with no national health service. I can see why Obama would want this as his 'showpiece' legislation. Surely everyone will want this. Just think of the improvements in their lives if healthcare becomes more affordable and better quality for EVERYONE.

Press coverage at the time highlighted the benefits of better cover, more entitlement to subsidised or free care, better communication between healthcare services to provide unique tailored care for each individual, and so on. In fact, it seemed too good to be true.  We didn't seem to hear much about it outside the US – presumably because it was considered to be a domestic issue with no international relevance.

Well, someone I very much respect once said "if it seems too good to be true, then it is too good to be true".

On closer inspection of this document you will find buried the invitation to Big Brother to come in and take over the lives of the Americans almost completely. This document is weighty, boring and long so I cannot for the life of me imagine the average American settling down with it as a 'good read'. However, hidden way back towards the end of this document there is reference to a medical device that is "implantable, life-supporting, or life-sustaining". There are other references in the document to this device which would apparently positively identify patients and automatically link any medical facility to the patient records. There would also be links through this device to either the patients bank account or other social records proving eligibility for free medical care or even current health insurance validity.  The document highlights the need for all Americans to have such a device before 1 January 2013.

WOW!!! Rock on George Orwell – how could you possibly know?????

So, imagine my relief when I discovered that this Bill never made it into Law.

My research actually showed:

" The proposed America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (or HR 3200) was an unsuccessful bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 14, 2009." (Source: Wikipedia)

and

"This bill is obsolete. To read, comment and link to the current health care reform bills in Congress, see the links below:

Senate Bill: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

House Bill: Affordable Health Care for America Act"

(Source: www.opencongress.org)

Instead the US Government adopted something called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) which was signed into law on 23 March 2010.

I did TRY to read this document (also very long, dry and boring). I'm not an expert in legalese or American jargon but it appeared to have done away with the idea of compulsory implantation of these identification devices.

WHAT A RELIEF.

I can't tell you how good that made me feel. No panic.

OR IS THERE???

My original research turned up an RFID as the device referred to so I started to ask myself, "what is an RFID?".

Well, it seems this stands for 'Radio Frequency Identification Device'. They can provide access to a LOT of information and the newest ones are only the size of a grain of rice. They are also implantable. The technology is already all around us. When we have our pets chipped we are using RFID technology. Some vehicles use it for tracking and quite a large number of businesses use it instead of barcodes these days for tracking sales, inventory and stock movement. But is there a more sinister side perhaps?  Here are some examples that I found on the internet – let's start with something I'm sure most of us would find innocuous:

Texas-based DeviceFidelity developed a specialised microSD card which, when inserted into a mobile phone can be both a passive tag and an RFID reader though which a user's phone can be linked to banks accounts for use in mobile payment.

Another American company has started using RFIDs on mobile phones as part of a loyalty and rewards programme. Customers ask for an RFID tag. Once it is activated the phone receives promotions and coupons which the store can read.

Another well-known supermarket chain has introduced a touch-free payment system. Those joining the scheme are given a free Nokia 3220 phone. Once activated they can pay on their credit card via the mobile phone at any of this chain's worldwide stores.

Now, if you think Minority Report showed some far-fetched ideas with the advertising hoardings actually speaking to Tom Cruise by name (not his real name, of course, but his character in the film), think again. Bear in mind also that some of these RFID tags can be read from up to 100 metres away and can be read THROUGH an item. It is also possible to read 100s of RFID tags at a time:

In a clothing store, for example, the RFID can be used for advertising. When a customer enters a dressing room, the mirror reflects their image and also images of celebrities wearing the same item on an interactive display. At the same time a webcam projects the image of the customer wearing the item to the website.

RFID passports are now in use in Malaysia, Norway, Japan, Hong Kong, the USA, Serbia, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Albania, Australia, The Philippines, the Republic of Macedonia and most of the EU including the UK, Spain and Ireland. They record the date, time and place of entries and exits from the country.

Some theme parks insist children wear an RFID bracelet to they are easily found if they go missing.

"OK", I hear you say. Maybe science-fiction is becoming science-fact. But nothing here about implantation. Oh, no. Just read on:

It seems that in 2004 Conrad Chase was already offering implanted chips to his VIP customers in his night clubs in Barcelona and Rotterdam. The RFID chip identified them immediately as VIP customers and they used the RFID chip to pay for their drinks.

Another suggested use has been in vending machines. If the customer has an RFID tag they could make a selection and purchase from a vending machine without having any actual money with them as the amount would be automatically debited from the bank account. These tags could be implanted or via the mobile phone.

So, now we have implantation. BUT this was VOLUNTARY. Indeed, unless you were very rich and thought of by Mr Chase as a VIP you had no chance of getting an implant. In fact, I'm sure if you weren't already VERY rich indeed you probably needed to remortgage your house to pay for a drink in either of his night clubs.

BUT here is something entirely more sinister in my opinion:

Since 2004 a number of US hospitals have begun implanting patients with RFID tags and using RFID systems, usually for workflow and inventory management. (Source: Wikipedia).

So, now we have a miniature chip that through a unique number can link in to all your personal information, your medical records, your bank account details (all in real time) and act as a GPS tracking system.

It has, in some circles, been suggested that some individuals (for example, the elderly with Alzheimer's) should be tagged for their own safety.

Hmmmmm!!! So we start with external tags, then move to implanted tags for specific reasons, then we find reasons to implant tags and "persuade" those involved to co-operate (or, perhaps, those charged with their care).

So, JUST WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE.

After all, what happens in America today often happens here very soon!!!!

As someone who values personal privacy beyond almost everything else I have so far avoided having a photo driving licence and was so glad I got my passport before the new RFID ones were issued. This whole idea seems to be a gross erosion of personal privacy and I am very scared.

ARE YOU?