Al Qarnah, Egypt - Busy Village Life
Photo: Medinet Habu - at night
It is exceedingly hot for late September. It’s 44C in Luxor, but probably closer to 50 degrees here near the gebel in Qurna. It drains one's will. We stay secluded up in the flat, although no cooler inside than out. We manage a light breakfast of zabadi (yogurt) and asal (honeycomb), and about 8 pm I eat a small bowl of salata. After dusk the wind picks up, but is filled with desert heat. Instead of providing relief, it assaults the skin and pulls every iota of moisture from it. The windows, doors and shutters shudder under the assailing wind.
I hear a jehesh (donkey) braying madly nearby, and wonder if it is hungry or thirsty, or just equally annoyed at this hellish gale. I can still hear the endless sound of cars and motorcycles a block away – and their horns – but in the alley all I can see are the tumbling plastic bags. Even the dogs and cats aren’t out hunting.
I therefore, resign myself to an evening of well-earned rest.
I awaken early to the sound of a crowing rooster, and know it must be about 4 a.m. This is the best time in Qurna, I will go drink some icy water on the balcony while there is a blessed, cool breeze and pick out the dozen or so stars visible at this time of morning (before there is too much light).
I’m now in my second week here (early October), the exhausting and debilitating heat has partially subsided, enough that I can venture out during the day. My husband takes me wherever I fancy. A trip to the Valley of the Queens, a day in the fields so I can get some photographs, an excursion to Gezeria Al Mozh (Banana Island) because he has never been, despite it being so close by. These dalliances are interspersed with numerous visits to family, which in typical Egyptian fashion is quite large. Even after all these years I sometimes forget which Mohamed belongs to which brother.
