Life does not work this way

Just learned that a 15-year old boy through himself out of a window. How often teenagers after being burned out in a relationship imagine: “I am laying in my coffin, still and beautiful/masculine; family and friends are crying their hearts out. Then, HE/SHE will realize what he/she has lost!” But in life it does not work this way. Anyone with some brain should be aware that once the funeral is over everyone goes back to day-to-day routine trying to move on, avoiding feeling of remorse, starting new relationship… Life goes on. And the only people who will never forget, people who will get up and go to bed thinking of you are parents. Everyone should remember this.

Cairo

People often say that Cairo is overcrowded city. Traffic is too heavy, too many people, smog. But there are nice places in this monster. Here are two photos - view from my windows.

Cairo silhouettes

Fascinating photo of Cairo (via Drugoi ) . Strange combination of a mosque, a Christian church, and satellite dishes.

Hair styles for middle aged women

What hairdo to choose when you are in your mid-40s, mid 50s, mid 60s (provided that you still have hair)? Definitely, life style and face shape should be taken into consideration. Besides, I decided long time back that short hair is not for me – my features are quite big. Short hair style works well only with delicate features.
It seems that as you grow older and older your hairstyles become more and more limited. It is limited to short or medium length. When you wear long hair you look like someone who is trying to look young. And this is always silly.

Hmm…. What to choose? Since I am a young person locked inside a middle aged body, what hairstyle should I keep? Should I break tradition and keep them long? Is there a hairstyle that makes middle aged women look better?

Here are few photos of mature women wearing long hair.

Marriage, divorce, and relationship with a Copt.

I received an email recently where a woman asked whether it is possible to have a relationship with a Copt in Egypt who is separated from his wife but does not want a divorce.

For those who do not know, a Copt is an Egyptian Orthodox Christian. Btw, Christians represent around 10% of the Egyptian population. Around 90% of them belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church. The remaining 10% are divided between the Coptic Catholic and the Coptic Protestant churches (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/eg.html).

Civil marriage and divorce are regulated in Egypt by the Family law. In addition, the Coptic Church has a separate set of bylaws regarding both marriage and divorce, which were set in 1938.

Recently the Church increased the number of reasons for divorce from two to three:
- adultery,
- undisclosed pre-existing terminal illness,
- and change of religion.

Importantly that the Coptic Church issues annulment of marriages not divorces. Another problem is that while a Christian may be able to obtain civil divorce, this divorce may not be recognized by the Church (if the reason for divorce does not fall into the three above). Egypt's Coptic religious leader Pope Shenouda III said that the ruling of an Egyptian court obliging the church to acknowledge a man's right to remarry after he obtained a civil divorce is not binding.

"We only abide by the Bible. We cannot betray our principles and do something that is forbidden in our holy book. The court ruling is civil and not religious" (http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/03/04/46471.html )

In case of adultery and consequent divorce recognized by the church, "the party that committed adultery is not allowed to re-marry while the victim is granted this right." Thus, the church cannot marry a divorcee for reasons other than adultery, and any minister who does that will be excommunicated," Pope Shenouda said.

What shall people do with such a rigid church’ stance? Many accepted these restrictions on divorce and are reluctant even to raise the issue of divorce in attempt to protect their families including parents and children from embarrassment. Some lead a double life. Some Christians temporarily convert to Islam in order to get divorced and remarry.

It is not my place here to judge anyone. But it seems that any relationship with a Coptic man can bring more troubles to both than joy. Unfortunately…

Population of Alexandria, Egypt

Alexandria, Egypt is the second- largest and constantly growing city in Egypt. Between 1947 and 1986, Alexandria's population grew from 700,000 to 2.7 million. Currently, Alexandria's population is somewhere around 4.1 (although some sources state that it is 5 million). It consists of 6 blocks:

1. Montaza block: population 943,100
2. Eastern Alexandria block: population 933,600
3. Middle Alexandria block: population 566,500
4. Amreya block: population 457,800
5. Western Alexandria block: population 450,300
6. Gumrok block: population 186,900

There are also two cities under the control of the Alexandria governorate: Borg Al-Arab city with population of 186,900 and New Borg Al-Arab city with population of 7600.

The city is overpopulated. When in Alexandria, you cannot fail to notice that that automobiles and people are everywhere inside the city. In many areas, the boundary between sidewalks and the roadway appears to be somewhat blurred as the people overflow on the edge of the roadways walking around parked cars with no concern for the numerous cars that are driving on the roadways. To a stranger it seems like chaos. But sometimes what we consider chaos may work if it is a commonly understood system in which all parts of the system follow the same rules.

http://www.photius.com/countries/egypt/society/index.html
http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/egypt/index.html

Guava jam

It is a guava season now in Egypt. I love this fruit in fresh a lot. I also like to stock up some guava jam cans. It goes great with breakfast toasts. The Egyptian guava is yellow when ripe with a pronounced fragrance which makes a wonderful aromatic jam.


Ingredients:
Guava
Sugar

Many recipes call for water. I do not add water. With water it will take longer time to cook and as the result the jam will come out like a pure. Meanwhile I like to feel pieces of fruit in the jam.

For each 10-12 guava fruits I add 2 cups of sugar 200 ml each (400 ml total).

Cut guavas into quarters and scrape out the seeds (I do not peel fruits). Put the guava insides with seeds into a pot and bring to a boil (on a low heat.) Then reduce heat to minimum and boil for about 30 minutes. Remove from stove and set aside to cool for 15 minutes. Pour the mixture through a metal sifter (into a pan) to separate out the seeds. Use a spoon to force the mixture through the sifter.

Meanwhile, slice seedless quarters of guava into smaller segments. Transfer them to a heavy pan (the same that will be set on stove) and add sugar (for each 10-12 guava fruits 2 cups of sugar), shake the pot, cover it and leave for 30 minutes. Then, shake it again and leave for another 30 minutes. Repeat this procedure for 4-5 times. This will allow juices to develop. Hence, there will be no need for water. Sometimes I leave fruit-sugar mix over night and start cooking only next morning.

Add mixture obtained after sifting seeded pieces to the heavy pan where you kept guava-sugar mix. Set the pan on stove; bring to boil (on a low heat). Reduce heat and keep boiling, shaking the pan every now and then (stirring would mash the pieces of fruit) until a little drop onto a wet saucer begins to thicken. It takes to me about 5 hours to reach this stage on a low heat. Jam should simmer at a very slow boil. If it is too high, the jam will burn.

Move pot from stove and set aside to cool. Transfer jam into jars and refrigerate. Jam will stiffen as it cools. Make sure they have good tight lids. This jam can keep for months.