Cairo

Thursday, September 30, 2010

I went back to the steam museum today just to get another 3 photos the museum was open but again no electricity the workmen had also put dust covers over the outside of the windows, so it was even darker inside I tried taking photos with flash but the glass casing gave a reflection so only one or two shots came out half decent to keep,
the rest of the day was spent walking around Cairo down town part of the city where I came across quite a few different kinds of old machinery so you ladies will have to be happy with a boys toys blog today with a little bit of my other interest of buildings,

after climbing over a pike of rubble and a few other things in the busiest station in the world I came upon this sign. Not sure what language its in

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And this handsome fellow is the late Mohamed Pasha founder of the Egyptian railway in 1948.

not sure how true my guide today was. so I shall read up on that later.

The reason I am doubting the young lady my tour guide, yesterday I looked at the architectural work of the museum building particularly the ceilings and another reason I went back to the museum today . and as I took the photo I saw there are some lights on, maybe the lecy was back on??

This a model of a french steam engine. the train itself was only in service for 4 years before the boiler packed in,

There was also several of these old advert posters on display

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These tiles "right"are being clad with plaster reliefs "left" not nice but that's my opinion

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above looking out of the station

below the interior of the station from the museum.

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As I left the museum and went over the foot bridge I saw this electric city train looks like a fifties train. and looking back to the station the footb3 roads ridge crosses one being 6 lane.
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Modern day Cairo still has horses doing deliveries here its delivering diesel oil unloaded into 5 gallon plastic containers, this is just outside Ramses street station.
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dust covers over ramses station the museum is far right

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Opposite the station is the El Fathi Mosque reputed to have the tallest minaret in Egypt

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no comment,

vw caravanette, I owned one like this in 1971

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vw car

.willys ww11 jeep

Cadillac and Jaguar mk 9.

that's today's blog google is playing up again. I am off to Suez tomorrow

Steam museum Cairo

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AFTER ALL THE EXCITEMENT OF GETTING TO SEE THE STEAM MUSEUM THE PLACE WAS OPEN, BUT WITH ALL THE DUST AND WORK THAT WAS GOING ON IN THE STATION THE ENGINES I WANTED TO SEE WHERE COVERED UP LIKE PARCELS , NO LIGHTING IN THE PLACE AND I WAS ONLY ALLOWED TO TAKE 3 PHOTOS, MY GUIDE IN THE MUSEUM WAS A LADY WHO WAS NOT VERY WELL PAID AND WOULD LOVE TO VISIT THE OTHER STATIONS IN EGYPT BUT IS TIED DOWN WITH HAVING 3 CHILDREN OF YOUNG AGE,
SHE ONCE HAVING TOLD ME HER HISTORY WAS QUITE THOROUGH IN TELLING ME THE HISTORY OF THE PIECES ON DISPLAY. EVERYTHING WAS BY THE BOOK, THAT I BOUGHT ON ENTRY AND SIGNING INTO THE MUSEUM NOT KNOWN THIS BEFORE, signing to go into a museum,
TIME;- DAY;- MONTH;- PROFESSION;- ADDRESS;- AND PORT OF ENTRY;- ANY ONE WOULD THINK I WAS MOVING IN TO THE MUSEUM,
THE GUIDE BOOK WAS VERY INFORMATIVE ON EGYPT'S RAIL HISTORY BLACK AND WHITE PICS PHOTO COPY ONLY, SO THE PICTURE ABOVE BLOGGING PROBS WILL ONLY LET ME PUT ON IN THIS SIDEWAY VIEW AND MORE ???? FOR GOOGLE BLOGGER WHY. I AM NOT GOING TO DO A TEASER ON WHAT IS IT,
THIS IS THE FIRST TICKET MACHINE AND A WONDERFUL PIECE OF MACHINERY LOOKS VERY COMPLICATED JUST FOR A PRINTED TICKET TO RIDE ON WHAT WAS THE FIRST STEAM TRAIN IN EGYPT, THAT TOO WAS UNDER WRAPS AND HAD ITS OWN PRIDE AND PLACE IN ANOTHER PART OF THE BUILDING UNDER LOCK AND KEY THIS IS USUALLY A WAY TO GET MORE MONEY FOR THOSE OF US STEAM ENTHUSIASTS ,
ONE THING SAW OF INTEREST WAS THE DRIVE , THIS WAS UNDER AND IN THE CENTER OF THE MAIN BODY AND DROVE THE 2 MID WHEELS ONLY, THE TRAINS SPRINGS WHERE ALSO IN A STRANGE POSSISSION ABOVE THE WHEEL GUARDS, IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS FOUND GIVEN A QUICK LICK OF BLACK PAINT AND WHITE TO SHOW TH MOVING PARTS WITH NODDY BLUE BUMPERS,

on leaving the hotel this old model Mercedes was parked outside. on seeing my interest in the car the porter from the hotel came running out. opened the bonnet and proceeded to get the engine running. it purred like a kitten original , he said, and i sell for 20 thousand, very strong car , my father bought it new in 1956,
we had three all running taxi then father died and we loose the taxi license, ad we sell 2 and now we need to sell this one. i told him i ave no license to drive. and was not interested in buying , as i proceeded on my journey to Ramses square i saw the honda motorbike and that too was in good condition.

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Madi shopping centre chaos at its best, here we have a fun fair in the middle of the centre best trade is coffee shops this coffee shop started with 20 chairs then started to expand as they realized swings and roundabouts was for the kids and cost money while the kids where on the swings and roundabouts plus magic planets cuddle bugs, the parents needed a place to sit by the end of 1 year the seats had over taken the funfair now kids and parents have to have a coffee and drink while waiting for room in the funfair, money money money, chaos while the kids have tantrums waiting to get in magic planet.

why are the cuddle bugs all stacked up. they can not move for the tables and chairs that are overflowing out of the coffee shop. oh to be a kid again ;-sit down shut up and eat your crisps and look at the pretty lights on the funfair.

and me I just take photos. like this from my room in the Capsis hotel

this is next door to the office and printing factory of the daily paper al gezzira.and I have a larger than life photo of Egypt's beloved president Hosni Mubarak.

and watch the pretty lights of the chaotic traffic in this major city of Egypt

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

arrived in Cairo at 20.20

My deciding to do the day journey to Cairo was a good move I thoroughly enjoyed the scenic route,
did not sleep all the way to Cairo , apart from the 2 hour sauna, there where no hiccups as one usually gets on journeys here in Egypt. on arrival in Cairo's busy Ramses street station , reputed to be the busiest station in the world, I thought so too after getting off the train and having to literally climb over bodies strewn on the platforms. it was dark and seemed that most of the place was under a massive refurbishing job.
I went back the day after and found the whole of the station was being re vamped and I mean the whole of the station is draped in mesh dust covers,

inside the station

On arrival at the hotel I tried to transfer the photos on to the computer and sods law the card fits the slot but will not read the data, but not all is lost there is a good computer outlet in the next street to this hotel which leads me to another nice find,
the name of this hotel is Capsis its 5 minutes walk from the station and its a rather nice place for the money 120le per night including breakfast thats 11 sterling or 22$,
cheap but not in quality. my room is a single room with en-suite and I am chuffed its got a bath that I am about to wollow in as soon as this writing is done + a down load of a few pics from the moving train so please forgive the Quality. as I said most of the pics will be on tomorrow as soon as I get a usb connection line

talk about the old lady who lived in a shoe, not sure if its an orphanage or a brothel. what with the red light and all them kids clothes hanging to dry, or maybe the railway children,

my new eee com has another suprise it has a built in card reader ....and. its only for the card in my olympus so you lucky lot will get to see my pics on todays blog,

CANAL CLEANING near EL MINIA,

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sacks of corn and GRAIN SILOS Asuit

This guy got on the train in El minia sat next to me and ptomptly went to sleep after a while I thought the guy had died, then the snorring started deep and loud even nudging him made no difference after an hour I had enough of this noise and woke him up on the pretence of needing to go to toilet,

Cairo here I come with problems

Already half way into the journey there is a problem with the trains electrical generator, that in turn suplies air condition to the 1st class carriages, it seems the generator went out as the train was stationary in Asuit. the town half way between Luxor and Cairo. petitions have gone out with full id of the people on the train , me being english and know the system here I said ;- and who is going to listen to you, we petition the guvornment I was told :- they keep our mouths closed for too long , while I took this photo all the mobile phones on this carriage where in use facebook I hear,

at the moment we are in El Minia, the train stops here five minutes but all the people have got off the train and refusing to get back on until the air con is back on , but as I said who will listen 1/2 hour later we are on the move again cannot feel any difference in temperature. but thats Egypt,
the main problem started when one of the men on the train opened the outer door to let some air in this refrigerated box no windows open so a bit of air from the doors would not go amiss, but along came a stroppy young train worker :-Its against the rules to open these doors while the train is moving????? and then we had another elder gentleman in eris uniform shouting the odds, at this speed we may get to Cairo in time for opening the steam museum at 7.30 in the morning, tarra for now from a steam bath on the Aswan /Cairo train,
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