Bernadette Simpson's Blog
May 30, 2012
As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve taken a lot of flights recently between Cairo and Sharm el Sheikh. And my favorite thing about this short trip is the view over Sinai, especially as we begin our descent near Sharm. The image above shows Ras Mohamed National Park, the oldest national park in Egypt – and one of my favorite places in Sinai! Although most popular for its snorkeling and diving opportunities, Ras Mohamed is also home to mangroves and wadis hosting a variety of desert plants and animals. The area is also an important stopover for migrating birds, particularly raptors, storks, and pelicans. Egyptians pay only a LE 5 entrance fee per person and LE 10 per car. Camping overnight is allowed in one designated area and does not cost extra! Ras Mohamed is a short drive from Sharm el Sheikh and makes an excellent day trip. And summer is only a few short weeks away…
Read more:
Wikipedia – Ras Muhammad National Park
Egypt Tourism Authority – Ras Mohammed National Park
May 15, 2012
EgyptAir is the country’s national airline and is celebrating it’s 80th birthday this month! While I have only flown internationally with EgyptAir a handful of times, I am becoming quite a frequent flyer on their Cairo-Sharm El Sheikh route operated by EgyptAir Express. The bilingual in-flight magazine, Horus, ran a feature article on the history of the company.
A few highlights from the historic timeline of EgyptAir:
May 7, 1932 – “Misr Airwork” is founded.
1933 – In two 4-seat passenger planes, regular flights are scheduled between Cairo – Alexandria – Marsa Matrouh.
1936 – First airline to land in Jeddah and El Medinah in Saudi Arabia
1946 – Company is nationalized and renamed “Misr Air”
1960 – Misr Air is renamed “United Arab Airlines”; first long-distance direct flight from Cairo to London
1971 – “EgyptAir” is decided on as the international name for the company
2005 – E-tickets introduced
2007 – EgyptAir Express is established
2008 – Became an official member of the Star Alliance Group, the first Arab airline to do so
Today – EgyptAir flies to 79 international destinations and 12 local cities, with over 1500 weekly flights. The newest fleet of airplanes can carry more than 300 passengers. A big change from the original 4!
May 6, 2012
While I wrote about konafa bil gibna (konafa with cheese) in my book, it was not a variety of konafa that I had ever tried myself – until a couple of weeks ago! I have always loved konafa with nuts and/or cream, but I must say – konafa bil gibna is quite a tasty option! Sadly, there are not many shops selling Egyptian sweets here in Dahab – and none up to the standards of my favorite shop in Cairo. I don’t know what took me so long, but I finally decided to buy the frozen konafa pastry strands and make my own.
When I told my mother that I was “making” konafa, she asked surprisingly if I had a tool to make those thin pastry strands. No, I answered, I bought the frozen pastry! (Which is what most Egyptians do, my husband assures me. Frozen or fresh from the baker.) But my mother replied that I was “assembling” konafa, not “making” it. And assembling konafa IS pretty simple, once you have the pastry! A bit of ghee, a bit of cheese and lemon, a rose-water infused syrup and you get this:
Delicious!
April 29, 2012
Instead of the usual caper flower photos that I like to post, this year I’d thought I’d share the little, immature flower buds – the culinary capers so often used in Mediterannean cuisine. While capers are not used in traditional Egyptian dishes, the bushes are quite abundant here and Egypt does produce and market pickled capers. (Try the ones from Wadi Food.)
The flower buds pictured here were collected by my husband and I yesterday on a hike through a nearby desert wadi. This is the second year we will harvest and pickle our own capers – and then enjoy them on pizzas, pastas, and more! The Bedouin of South Sinai pickle the caper berries, but not the buds.
Read more:
Capers – New Crop FactSHEET from Purdue University
Do-it-yourself capers – a picking and pickling guide
Homemade Pickled Capers, Caper Leaves, and Caper Berries
April 22, 2012
Not the best images, but I just wanted to announce their arrival – which for me marks the official start of springtime! 
The European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster, flies through Egypt on spring and fall migration. I love waiting for these birds every spring and then alerting my father in Italy, who starts to keep an eye out for his first sighting of the beautiful bee-eaters, usually a few weeks later. The birds in the photos were spotted in Nuweiba, South Sinai yesterday afternoon and I also spotted one in Dahab later in the day. The bee-eaters are more abundant in Cairo so keep your eyes peeled – and listen for their distinctive trill!
March 2, 2012
If you have been wondering where I´ve been lately, I´d like to introduce you to Project Noah, my latest obsession!
Project Noah is a tool that nature lovers can use to explore and document wildlife and a technology platform research groups can use to harness the power of citizen scientists everywhere. The purpose of the project is to mobilize and inspire a new generation of nature lovers. It began as an experiment to see if we could build an app for people to share their nature sightings and has evolved into a powerful global movement for both amateurs and experts. The name "Noah" is an acronym that stands for networked organisms and habitats.
Basically, after signing in (with your Google account, Facebook, Yahoo, etc.), you can upload photos you take of the wildlife you spot. (Each entry is a ¨spotting¨.) There are fields of information you can enter – common name, scientific name, description, habitat, location, and notes. If you don´t know what that critter or flower is, simply click the ¨Help Me ID this Species¨ and other nature-loving and knowledgeable members will try and help. You can join others on different ¨Missions¨ and contribute your spottings to different themed groups. There´s ¨Butterflies and Moths of the World¨, ¨Nature in Yellow¨, and dozens more. You can even create your own mission! I have been working on adding photos to the Biodiversity in Egypt Mission, started by my nature-loving, image-shooting friend, Nicole B. So, if you´d like to learn more about the flora and fauna of Egypt, visit our mission page and view photos of the birds, lizards, butterflies, bees, snails, mammals, spiders, fish and more. Enjoy taking photos of nature? (There are apps for smartphones.) Join our mission and help others learn about the amazing biodiversity in Egypt. (Wouldn´t that be a fun class project?!)
Visit EgyptHeritage´s Egypt´s Biodiversity website to get a start on identifying the nature around you.
February 18, 2012
Pesky flies! Not an uncommon complaint made by visitors to Egypt. But they can be quite fascinating to look at up close, like this little guy – a Common Green Bottle Fly (Lucilia sericata). He is one of several different species of flies found in Egypt.
February 1, 2012
Not the best capture, I realize, but it is not often I get to post under the letter ¨W¨! The White-crowned Black Wheatear (Oenanthe leucopyga) is only one of several different wheatear species found in Egypt – and one of the more common birds seen in Sinai. They are easily spotted as their little black-and-white bodies dart between rocks. In Sinai, you´ll also find the black-and-white Mourning Wheatears and Hooded Wheatears.
January 11, 2012
A couple of the donkeys we came across on a recent drive through the mountains of south Sinai ~ A few Bedouin women were at a nearby well, filling dozens of jerkins with the fresh water, which the donkeys (There were around 8 of them.) would later carry home to their encampment.
Many donkeys in (mainland) Egypt live a much more strenuous life. Check out The Donkey Sanctuary´s website and read about how they work to improve the living conditions donkeys in Egypt.
Donkeys and mules constitute a major part of the total animal population in Egypt, standing at over 3,000,000. They are used for everyday tasks, including carrying both goods and people. There are also hundreds of brick kilns in the areas where we work and each kiln has between 10-15 donkeys working on site.
Most donkeys we come across suffer with open wounds caused by poor harnessing. Foot problems are also common, along with eye infections and donkeys beaten by their owners. Our teams visit 11 villages and the brick kilns on a regular basis to offer free routine veterinary care and help owners improve the working conditions for their animals.
January 6, 2012
About a year ago, I posted about my Arabic-speaking alter-ego Habiba. She´s embarrassed it has taken her this long, but she has finally uploaded a new book! The Flying Seed or البِذرة الطايرة follows the seed of the 'ushaar plant (Dead Sea Apple Tree) as he jumps from his pod, flies through the village, and comes to rest in a nearby wadi, where – with the help of the sun and rain – he will complete his life cycle.
Visit Habiba´s web page to download FREE copies of this book in either Egyptian Arabic or Arabic and English.
You can download eBooks or printable versions, all PDFs.
