December 31

We returned early this morning to Alexandria after a 10 day holiday in Spain. We left on the 20th of December, flying to Frankfurt and then on to Madrid arriving around noon on the 20th. Our son, Aaron, arrived a couple of hours later and we navigated ourselves through the Metro (subway) to our hotel. The hotel was located just a short walk to the historic Plaza del La Puerta del Sol. heart of Madrid's historic center, this site used to be on the eastern border of the city. The plaza's name originates from the eastern city gate located here in the 15th century.

In the middle of the square is a large equestrian statue of King Carlos III. The King looks out to a beautiful 18th century red brick building, the former main post office. In front of this building on the pavement is the 'kilometer 0' plaque, marking the center of the Spanish road network. It is the starting point from where all the highway distances are measured. We spent the first day, relaxing and exploring a little part of the Puerta del Sol while trying to get American dollars converted to Euros.

Monday morning we began our “Madrid” leg of our holiday. We visited two renowned art museums: the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia and the Museo del Prado. These museums feature works by Picasso, Dali, Goya, El Greco, Velázquez, Rafael, Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Bosch, Botticelli, Dürer, and others. We recognized many paintings from textbooks and it was neat to to see first hand. After visiting the museums we were ready to try a famous culinary tradition of Spain: Churros and Chocolate. Many of our friends who have visited Spain raved about these – we stopped by a little restaurant and gave them a go.

After our dessert break we headed back to the hotel on the Metro. Spain, especially Madrid, is infamous for pickpockets and purse snatchers and even though we felt we were ready, our son was victimized on the Metro by a team of girls. Three created a distraction nearby on the Metro while another brushed by Aaron and slipped out his passport, money and credit card. We didn’t realize it until we were back at the Hotel. We retraced our steps thinking that perhaps we just misplaced it at one of the Museums, but no luck. Like so many others, we were victims. Fortunately, no one was hurt but still it is such a hassle to get a passport replaced and contact the credit card companies, not to mention the loss of money.

Tuesday we spent most of the morning at the US Embassy as Aaron was able to get a new passport. While we were there, we spoke with a college student who had her wallet lifted from her purse at the airport as she was getting ready to leave for the States. In the afternoon we toured the Palacio Real. The Palacio Real or Royal Palace is the largest and certainly one of the most impressive palaces in Europe. It has more than 2000 luxuriously decorated rooms, 50 of which can be visited. It was to be modeled loosely on the Versailles Palace near Paris. We saw the Sala de Porcelana (china room) and the Salón del Trono (throne room) with red velvet walls. The palace also includes the Arméria Real, the royal army museum. It contains a beautiful collection of armory, including King Charles V's armour suit.

After touring the palace, we explored throughout the Plaza de la Villa and the Plaza Mayor. These are two of the oldest and most visited plazas in the historical area of Madrid. Many small “cafeterias” line the streets in these plaza areas. These cafeterias vary in size and many feature a “standing-area” type bar where patrons enjoy coffee, tea and other drinks with tapas (various appetizers). It seems that a high percentage of Spaniards smoke – very few places are “smoke-free”, especially eating places.

Wednesday, we hopped on a bus and travelled 225 miles south to Granada. We used the buses to travel throughout Spain on our trip and found them to be a very easy and inexpensive way to travel. Depending on the distances between cities, the cost of a ticket varied from approximately $10 to $25. Buses are modern, clean, comfortable and run on time!

The central focus of our trip to Granada was to visit the Alhambra. Once the residence of the Muslim rulers of Granada and their court, the Alhambra is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions exhibiting the country's most famous Islamic architecture, together with Christian 16th century and later interventions in buildings and gardens. The Alhambra consists of 3 parts: The Royal Palace, which is the most famous, which in itself consists of 3 parts: The Mexuar, the Serallo and the Harem, where the Lions' Court is the centre. In addition to the Alhambra are the gardens of Generalife and the fortress of Alcazaba. The Alhambra is a United Nations World Historical Site and tickets to the Royal Palace are limited. We arrived early and were able to get tickets to the palace on the day which we visited.



From Granada, we headed to Cordoba to visit The Mezquita (Spanish for "mosque") of Cordoba. The Mezquita is a Roman Catholic cathedral and former mosque.. Under the rule of Islam, it was built as the second-largest mosque in the world, and is the most accomplished monument of the Umayyad dynasty of Cordoba. After the Spanish Reconquista, it was transformed into a church, and some of the Islamic columns and arches were replaced by a basilica in early Baroque style. Today it houses the main church of the diocese of Cordoba in Spain. While in Cordoba, we met up with a teacher who was at Schutz last year (Lyn) and her brother Dennis. We ate lunch together and had a nice visit. Lyn was also a victim of a pickpocket shortly as they arrived in Spain. Later on, we ran into them again in Seville and enjoyed some time together.



Our next stop on our whirlwind tour of Spain was to Seville. Both Pat and I searched for the “Barber” as we wanted to get our hair cut, but we had no luck. While in Seville, we visited the Alcazar royal palace. Originally a Moorish fort, the Alcázar is one of the best remaining examples of mudéjar architecture. Subsequent monarchs have added their own additions to the Alcázar. The upper levels of the Alcázar are still used by the royal family as the official Seville residence. Later on we visited The Cathedral of Seville, also known as Catedral de Santa María de la Sede (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See). This Cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral and the fourth largest Christian church in the world. During mass we counted at least 14 large projection screens of the main alter. Inside the Cathedral is the tomb of Christopher Columbus (or so they say!)

While strolling through the streets of Seville, we came upon a bull fighting ring. This was open and we were able to tour the ring and visit a museum dedicated to bull fighting in Spain. Bullfights are usually held from April through October and are very popular with the people. During a typical day at the bull fights, there will be 3 bull fighters and 6 bulls. Each bull fighter will fight two bulls. It is a very ritualistic and traditional activity and is very popular with the people. The seating capacity of this ring was 14,000 and the guide told us it is always filled to capacity on bull fighting day.

Following our visit of Seville, we headed back to Madrid and stayed Tuesday evening before heading out on Wednesday. We were very fortunate with the weather. Temperatures were usually in the low to mid 50’s with sunshine and little wind. We only had one day with a light rain. It was very interesting to travel throughout the countryside in Spain. Much of the terrain is hilly and olive farming is very widespread throughout the areas we were in. In the cities the most common tree we saw was an orange tree with oranges nearly ready for the picking. These trees often lined the streets. The country is relatively clean and there is a interesting mix of old and new.

While is an easy country to travel and walk around, we sometimes found it difficult to communicate with the locals as little English is spoken. It was good to have Aaron travel with us throughout the trip. He remembers much from his Spanish classes in high school and his recent travels to Panama and Nicaragua. This came in very handy, especially communicating in restaurants, hotels and in taxis. Overall, we enjoyed our Spanish holiday.

December 19

We are now officially on holiday break. It has been a very busy week with numerous activities and parties. Wednesday evening we had our staff Christmas party at the headmaster’s new off-campus apartment. The apartment is located in a very nice area of Alexandria. Locals who have lived here a long time tell us that this area is what all of Alexandria looked like twenty years ago. If so, it must have been a beautiful city. But back then, the population was approximately 300,000 vs. the nearly 7,000,000 that live here today. Nearly all staff attended the party and everyone had a wonderful time. Earlier in the week we had the elementary winter program. The kids love to perform and the auditorium was filled to capacity.

Last Friday was the final day of the Eid. Pat and I went out for Chinese food at a restaurant near San Steffano Mall. After the meal, we decided to walk through the mall to see what was playing at the Cinemas. The mall was nearly packed with people – it was difficult to even walk through. Security guards stood next to escalators to help move the people along. Very few people were in the stores shopping, most were in the food court areas and the hallways of the mall.

Early tomorrow morning we are off to Spain for 10 days. We will be meeting our son Aaron in Madrid and touring Granada, Cordoba and Seville. We have spoke with several staff (past and present) who have visited these areas in Spain and they all have glowing reports of what we will see. We are very excited. Other staff members are off to various locations such as Ireland, Indonesia, Luxor and Aswan while several are returning to the states.

December 10

On Monday evening several of us went out to Zypherion (our favorite seafood restaurant). I drove the van for the first time since returning. We left school around 4:30 and the traffic was pretty light until we got in Abu Kir. Since this was the Eid, the streets were filled with amusements for kids (such as donkey and horse rides and other various amusement park rides). This is a big celebration for the children. We managed to weave our way through the crowd to arrive safely at the restaurant. As usual, the shrimp and sea bass were outstanding! After the meal, we met the owner who told us of the famous sea battle that was held there in the early 1800’s between Napoleon and Lord Nelson.

After supper we went to Debbie and Mahmoud’s home and enjoyed an evening of cards (7 Up) and Catch Phrase (of course the men were victorious!) It was around 9:30 when we left to venture home. Traffic was bumper to bumper and side to side. It seemed like every taxi in the city was out. As you may recall, Alex has “van taxis” that stop along the street and pick people up. Possible passengers will stand along the street and wave to try to flag them down. Since the traffic was moving so slowly, several people thought we were a van taxi and in fact, once three ladies opened the sliding door to get in and were surprised to see 8 Westerners inside. We smiled and they smiled and closed the door. Who knows, this might be a good way to supplement out income while we are here!

Traffic seems much more congested this year than the past two year. We are also seeing more aggressive driving as well. Last night, walking home from Metro, cars were backed up for blocks on Schutz Street as vehicles were trying to go two way and were face to face and no one would move. Horns begin honking until eventually someone backs down and pulls over enough to let the other direction through (for a while) – then they decide it is there turn and it all begins again. We are so thankful we don’t have to rely very often on transportation to get around the city.

December 08

Today the Muslim world is celebrating the Eid al-Adha or Feast of Sacrifice, the most important feast of the Muslim calendar. It concludes the Pilgrimmage to Mecca. Eid al-Adha lasts for three days and commemorates Ibraham's (Abraham) willingness to obey God by sacrificing his son. Muslims believe the son to be Ishmael rather than Isaac as told in the Old Testament. Ishmael is considered the forefather of the Arabs. According to the Koran, Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son when a voice from heaven stopped him and allowed him to sacrifice a ram instead. The feast re-enacts Ibrahim's obedience by sacrificing a cow or ram.

Men, women, and children are expected to dress in their finest clothing to perform Eid prayer in any mosque. Muslims who can afford to do so sacrifice their best domestic animals (usually sheep, but also camels, cows, and goats) as a symbol of Ibrahim's (Abraham's) sacrifice. The sacrificed animals have to meet certain age and quality standards or else the animal is considered an unacceptable sacrifice. Generally, these must be at least a year old. At the time of sacrifice, Allah's name is recited along with the offering statement and a supplication as Muhammad said.

According to the Quran, the meat is divided into three shares, one share for the poor, one share for the relatives and neighbors, and the last to keep to oneself. A large portion of the meat must be given towards the poor and hungry people so they can all join in the feast which is held on Eid-al-Adha. The remainder is cooked for the family celebration meal in which relatives and friends are invited to share.

We plan to walk the neighborhood later on today to observe the area as this is the first Eid that we have been in Alex for. In previous years, the Eid was celebrated later in December when we were traveling. We start back to school on Wednesday – it will be interesting to see what the attendance will be like. Wednesday and Thursday are considered still holidays in Egypt and many families will be traveling or spending family time together. Many fathers of our students spend much of the year in other countries or out of the city for business reasons and this is a very important family time for them.



We spent part of the 5 day break in Ain Sukhna, a city located on the Red Sea, approximately two hours from Cairo. We stayed at the Stella De Mare Grand Hotel, a 5 star resort which features sandy beaches and a unique sea water heated pool. Certainly a highlight of our stay was a day spent at the spa enjoying the heated sea water message pool. We were joined by two other couples and spent our evenings playing cards and “Catch-Phrase.” The hotel was decorated in a Christmas theme with snowmen, Christmas trees and decorative packages. (Hope you enjoy the photo of Pat by one of the Christmas decorations). Everything about the holiday was very pleasant except for the ride down and back. We spent 5 hours each way with a driver that was less than average. He seemed to get easily distracted and varied his rate of speed from 55 mph (the legal limit) to 80 mph. He was ticketed for speeding (they used radar and picked him up at the Cairo toll gate). He had to pay a immediate fine of 100 LE and relinquish his license and then he has to return in two days to pay another fine to get his license back.