Monday, December 31, 2007

Divorce in Egypt

There are 88,000 divorces annually in Egypt , 35% of which in the first year of marriage. Currently, there are 2.5 million divorced women in Egypt . That was an ad on the Egyptian newspapers forwarded to me by my dear friend Camel. What he found sad is not only the figures, but the focus on women. Unlike my friend I was not surprised at all, I would have been surprised if our newspapers involved men as damaged persons because of the divorce, I would have said "Wow, seems like we're finally admitting that women are equal to men" but no, we have a long long way to go, a way that hasn't started yet and I wonder if it will ever start... Our society regards divorce as a crisis for women only, a woman would endure a horrible marriage with all kinds of unhuman things starting from lack of money, dignity, sexual satisfaction, emotions and up to being totally responsible for her family just to stay "married" because she would rather be married and miserable than divorced. Divorce is still considered by some families as a scandal to their daughters, society regards a divorced woman as guilty by default, blamed by most of the people because she had to endure and there are always a thousand and one reasons and possibilities for this enduring. Furthermore, a divorced woman is regarded a very good potential for sex by sexually frustrated men around her (and they are a lot), as -according to them- she is not as untouchable as virgins having lost her virginity already, she is more accepting to the idea and now being lonely she definitely needs a man! Divorce is rarely an issue for a divorced man if he thinks of another marriage, and many single women who have never been married before would gladly go for the proposal, he is a man! A divorced mother is always a question mark when her daughter starts her own marriage with the primary research about the families, the suitor's family would be seriously concerned that her mother is divorced and like mother like daughter, but the father, he is a man!

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Are you the one?

And suddenly in the middle of a stressful working day I get this wave of passion that drowns me bombarded by flashes of memories haunted by a painful past hoping of a better future torn between two ways forward or backward shall I get out of the shell shall I follow my heart that only brought me drops of happiness followed by oceans of pain and in my head I still hear John the Baptist sending his messengers to Jesus: "Is it you or shall we wait for another?"

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

The Birth of Light

It's Christams day, the world is celebrating the birth of the most wonderful human being ever walked on earth. His Birth was a birth of light and the world needed him and still needs him, his words have changed the life of many people and still do. I'm proud I was born in the same days and soon I will be celebrating my 29th Birthday, with hopes and wishes and happiness to be that related to Jesus.... Merry Christmas

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Life is Strange!

There is no standard for human nature. And this strange life even makes it more complicated. Yestreday's lover is today's enemy and today's enemy is tomorrow's friend. People change, things get misunderstood and then clarified (or not) actions get misinterpreted, sometimes we see things as we want to see them not as they really are. A painful past experience can keep haunting you forever and changing your perceptions of everything, you start caring for things you never noticed before and you tend to ignore things that used to be priorities and the list is endless.... It is a strange life that we have to live till the end, do we have a choice?

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Alexander The Great and how the Iranians see him

Still following the footsteps of Alexander, I took the chance and mentioned his name to my Iranian friends when I was in Tehran last week, regardless their background and religious beliefes, they all agreed on one thing: that he was an evil person and their main source of hatred is that he destroyed the Takhte Jamshid, or Persepolis, the ancient capital of the glorious Persian empire of the ancient times. They regard him as a symbol of evil and hatred, they deliver these to children and even in their history books and at schools, they see him as equally evil as Satan. According to them, Alexander was a strong leader who wanted to conquer their empire and destroy it out of pure jealousy and because he wanted to defeat them to claim himself the world leader. He did and he even destroyed their beautiful capital, burned many cities, killed many people including women and children, destroyed their temples and holly places. They hate him absolutely that just mentioning the name "Eskander" as they call him, their faces really turn very angry. The Iranians -unlike many nations in the world- are still in a very close contact with their history, they love their country and they are proud of its heritage, many of them still call their children ancient names of Persian heroes and names that are stemming from their ancient history. No wonder that they will hate Alexander in such a way. But there is always another face for the truth, Alexander did defeat the Persians and destroyed their capital and sacred places, but many historians see this as actually liberating Greece from the Persian occupation (at that time Persia was ruling the world even Egypt was part of the Persian Empire) and burning the Takhte Jamshid is nothing but an act of revenge for the Acropolis Temple of Athens that has been destroyed by the Persians! Well, I guess it's history, you can see it from different ways and you can actually hear people saying the same events in totally different scenarios, having a winner means there has been a loser, and the two stories would never be the same, at least from the emotional and human point of view. Again, Alexander, an angel or a devil, a hero or a villain, call him whatever you like, still he is one of the Greatest men in history.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

The question of Virginity

Our culture bestows on us that women are second degree creatures, not only by men but even some women themselves (I know many women who strongly believe that they are nothing without thier husbands because they are women and they even deliver the same concept to their children) So it is logic that the upper creature has more privilage than the lower one. As a matter of fact, this privilage includes many things that are related to sex, a man is so proud to show his sexual preferences to everyone, he has the right to talk about which women he likes and why, watching TV he can comment that this woman is sexy, and so on, while a girl usually keeps these comments to herself or her friends. Our society does not look at a man who sleeps with women outside marriage in the same way it looks at women who do the same. Similarly, a man can have a girlfriend and considered normal by his family, mothers are very proud to see their sons with girls while their reaction will be dramatic if she discovers her daughter is seeing someone. although religion does not separate in such things. Apart from sex, something like smoking, people get shocked to see women smoking while a smoking man is something u never stop at, although scientifically there is no difference, smoking harms both equally. a man is allowed to go out with his friends and stay out late while a girl should be home by 9 or 10 because she is a girl. An the list is endless. Virginity is complicated in our culture, it encompasses many things, among which: 1-Some men see it a sign of chastity, because a girl is either a virgin or not and if she's not a virging you can never tell if she has been with 1, 10, 100, 1000 men. 2-A non virgin means that she has some experience in sex, most men do not like that because this means the woman can identify if he's good or bad while with a virgin wouldn't be able to tell. 3-Of course the "I am the first" pride, that feeds the male ego. 4-A virgin gives a sense of security to the man that she will never betray him after marriage. Virginity is a representative of the honour of a whole family. Most men deal with women as sexual objects, while men are not, as if women have no desire, so the woman has to be covered while a very good looking man is not requested to hide his beauty, although the story of Joseph the prophet proves that men can be a source of sexual attraction to the point that the ladies cut their hands. A funny thing, our language has a word that describes a sexually attractive woman (Mozza) but there is no equivalent word for men :)

Monday, November 19, 2007

Of Life and People!

Isn't it really a cruel Life! We're supposed t live it without having the free will to leave it when we feel we've had enough. And we're forced to prevent ourselves from doing bad things and fight this evil that is a very basic part of human nature. And even if you did manage to fight it and stay good, you're forced to deal with it in other people, beacause you don't have another choice! And after all the bad experience you might have come through, you're supposed to stay good and clean from any stains that life might leave in you. And you're not supposed to end up confused, or to loose your mind or even your faith. Isn't it really a cruel Life?

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Drowned youth while escaping to Europe!

I totally sympathize with these youth trying to escape from Egypt in an illegal way, I actually find it logic given the situation in our country. Those people are really in seek of a better life, and here I mean better with their own definition, not a better car, a bigger apartment in some luxurious area or not a better job that pays few thousands more. Actually with my own definition, they were seeking a life so to start. I don't see them as criminals or as regarded by our Mofty as guilty (I think there are more guilty people up there, but who dares talk about them) I don't think we can judge an action after cutting it from the context, just look at the whole picture, read on their backgrounds and their social level, both financially and mentally, it's everybody's right to develop and have a better life, akeed we are not here to have a daily life that is nothing but constant suffering, starting from the moment you open your eyes untill you get back to bed, assuming that you can sleep in the first place. bad jobs, very low quality of life, bad food, unhealthy atmosphere, absolutley no service, and the list can go till tomorrow.... . I don't see those young men as lazy people who want it the easiest way, not at all, if they were lazy they would have never thought of any advancement and they would have thanked God for what they have no matter how bad and little it is. I think concepts of Reda and kana3a and if u don't do what u like like what u do and such nice soothing and calming words lost their effect and really start to sound ridiculous. Egypt is moving, literally falling down, I mean it, just look around you and see what there is not what you want to see, the country is moving, I totally agree, isn't falling down a kind of movement. If you stop whatever you are doing right now and just spend few minutes looking around you, you will see it, if you want to. Politics, Government and religious authority that lost its effect and constantly making fool of itself, and effectively confusing people who are already confused enough. Why would anyone stick to such life and not seek escape anywhere that seems better, and what is better than Europe? Just simply look at them and look at us... And by the way, based on my OWN experience in several European countries, the myths of racism, coldness, harsh life ceased to exist, exactly like the legends of gad3ana and shahama are disappearing. My job in research and product development makes me constantly get updated with innovations all over the world and in all fields. My God, we are no where, literally NO WHERE! I see these people very similar to Joseph K., the character in Franz Kafka's "The Trial" who found himself in prisoned and charged by a crime that he doesn't know, but unlike Joseph, those prisoners who were imprisoned without any crime did something hoping it will be the way of escape, I totally sympathise with them and I don't see tham as criminals at all, give people a life that suits human beings and then see if they will stay or escape before judging the actions in this very childish way.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

The Old Window

Sleeping streets and houses in darkness and silence all alone with the memory of a lost love looking through an old window Do you remember my dear old window when I first tasted that love with an enchanting eye contact and a heavenly touch why did we choose to love why did we choose to part and how did we forget that easily what we swore to be faithful for Now you're calling my name and I'm calling yours untill the longing fades away and disappears with what is meant to be I know that our dreams got lost in our days and my feelings are meaningless now how did we part for years and walk in separate ways and how did we give away our passion in a blink of an eye Now you're calling my name and I'm calling yours till the longing fades away and disappears with what is meant to be Sleeping streets and houses in darkness and silence all alone with the memory of a lost love looking through an old window An Egyptian song that I translated

Alexander The Great

Yesterday I had a very nice chance to watch the BBC documentary about Alexander the great and I was really impressed. The films was shot in real locations starting from his Birth place in Macedonia/Greece till his end in Babylon. It was a wonderful opportunity to trace the footsteps of this great man who really changed history and affected humanity in an incomparable way. Alexander is one of the most controversial characters in history, regarded as a brave warrior, an insatiable conqueror, a magnificent king, a patriotic citizen, a civilization builder, a devil, a horned beast, a heartless fighter, a brilliant planner, a down to earth leader, an emotional human, an egotist, a homosexual, a challenger and the list of names is endless.... I'm not surprised why uptill now Alexander still evokes this passion to study him and trace his footsteps, movies are still made about his short life (he died at the age of 33) and books are still written about his glory, people may agree or disagree on whether he was good or bad, but no one denies that he was a great man, no body can. Alexander conquered the world in 8 years and immortalized his name in history by his own footsteps, nothing stopped him from creating his glory marching with his army through the vast deserts of Egypt, the deep waters of Lebanon, the merciless warriors of Persia, the scary mountains of Afghanistan and the dangerous jungles of India. For the first time in history, a kingdom was created encompassing Greece in the north, Egypt in the west and China in the east. Historians believe he conquered all the known inhabited land at his time, he literally owned the world. What else could we expect from a man who knew no words as pessimism or weakness or retreat, a single minded approach he never changed in his life. Humanity owes a lot to this great man and we as Egyptians should thank him for Alexandria, that immortal magical city that has the first and biggest library in the world, and the light house that is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, an international university that changed the world and a cultural center that never ceased to to emit its light to mankind. Yesterday's movie was really absorbing and the idea of seeing the places where he literally walked with his army was breath taking, extremely different ways people see him was a thought provoking issue that still occupies my mind, the eternal question about any leader, a God or a Devil? I believe neither, a leader is still a man, human being, goods and bads, great works and mistakes, who said a leader has to be any of both? I recommend two important and extremely controversial works related to this event: 1- Adventure story, a play by the British playwrite Sir Terence Rattigan (1911-1977), unlike most of the works about Alexander, it has a very strong theme of spirituality, a totally new aspect of Alexander's character and an indication that his journey all over the world was with the aim of becoming a God. 2- Alexander, Oliver Stone's film that was made in 2004, starring Colin Farrel as Alexander with brilliant perfomance and also starring Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie and Val Kilmer in brand new roles. the film costed 155 Million US Dollars and was shot in London, Malta, Morocco, India and the Himalayas. The film focuses on the human side as well as the warrior in Alexander's character with special focus on his bisexuality and his relationship with his male friend and lover Hephaistion and his Persian wife Roxan. The film created a lot of controversy and was fought against mainly by the Greeks who refused that their great leader was shown as a homosexual and the Iranians who didn't like the scenes showing the defeat of the Persian army. I end this very long post with word that still rings in my mind, said by Michael Wood, the adventurer who was following the footsteps of Alexander, he said "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" Very true!!!

Friday, November 09, 2007

The game is on again A lover or a friend A big thing or a small The winner takes it all ABBA

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

A definition for Love!

I don't think we can define love by words, a spoken language will never be able to describe or give an exact definition for love, love is feelings and feelings are made to be felt not described or defined by words. Languages might be able to bring us close to the meaning but will never be able to define love.

Monday, November 05, 2007

A New Start

Some people believe they're able to forget their past, bury it, and just start anew. Well, I think this could be possible but it all depends on how this past was and what does it have that we want to hide or bury? Was it a hurt we have or give? Painful experience we passed through or made people pass through? Were we wrong or have we been wronged? All people make mistakes and God is there to forgive and give other chances, but what if the price of the mistake we did was paid by someone else, could the mistakes of the past be forgiven when this person is still suffering because of our mistakes? An Egyptian proverb says "He who forgets his past is lost" I believe it is from the past that you can have an idea about the future...

Sunday, November 04, 2007

What books should we read?

"I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us...We need the books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us" Franz Kafka

The Metamorphosis

"When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin" With this simple, bizarre and shocking sentence Kafka starts his most famous work, The Metamorphosis. Through this strange and unlogic transfiguration of a human being, Kafka opens the door wide for an unlimited flow of thoughts and questions. Many people said they would start up their life again as an insect if they were in Samsa's place, others preferred to commit suicide. But isn't it worth thinking? The story is very short, about 55 pages but quite profound in a shocking way, as all Kafka's works, the themes of melancholy, negativity, loss and heistation are very obvious in this book that people either hate or love, I even heard yesterday from a friend that the whole story is a bout "a cockroach who died", isn't it amazing how people perceive the same thing in totally different ways? On Wednesday October 31st, twelve young people were gathering in a very nice restaurant in Mohandesseen discussing the book, learning more about Kafka's life and sharing many of his quotes. If you had the chance to see them, you would have seen a small man in his twenties talking passionately and discussing the book and Kafka's life. Had it been possible for people to see inside each other, you would have seen inside him a mixture of contradictory feelings. You could agree or disagree whether the book is good or bad, but you could never miss the passion in his voice and eyes, although he was trying hard to hide his tears when he was talking about Kafka's end dying alone in Vienna after a long struggle with tuberculosis. I finally did it, after about 20 years of reading The Metamorphosis for the first time, I was there discussing it and sharing my passion for Kafka with most of the closest persons to me including my little sister Salma. Don't we agree with Kafka when he said: "By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The non-existent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired"

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

The Fading Light

Face book connects people beyond imagination, old classmates, neighbors, friends and even lovers. When they met after years of breaking up through facebook, each one had his own perception of this reunion that left her with a final decision and left him with a fact he never noticed before. Through journeys inside the characters, an eternal conflict between the heart and the mind, telepathy and painful love, facebook plays the major role in this ultra short fast-paced story that matches our age. Contact me for the full story ;)

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Good Bye my Best Friend!

Good Bye my Best Friend, my world will never be the same after you go and the emptiness you're leaving in my life, no one can ever fill... No one can ever fill!

Friday, September 07, 2007

Good Bye my Best Friend!

Good bye my best friend, not asingle day will I stop thinking of you and wishing you all the best

Monday, July 02, 2007

One of Us

They passed me by, all of those great romances You were, I felt, robbing me of my rightful chances My picture clear, everything seemed so easy And so I dealt you the blow One of us had to go Now its different, I want you to know One of us is crying One of us is lying In her lonely bed Staring at the ceiling Wishing she was somewhere else instead One of us is lonely One of us is only Waiting for a call Sorry for herself, feeling stupid feeling small Wishing she had never left at all I saw myself as a concealed attraction I felt you kept me away from the heat and the action Just like a child, stubborn and misconceiving Thats how I started the show One of us had to go Now Ive changed and I want you to know One of us is crying One of us is lying In her lonely bed Staring at the ceiling Wishing she was somewhere else instead One of us is lonely One of us is only Waiting for a call Sorry for herself, feeling stupid feeling small Wishing she had never left at all Never left at all Staring at the ceiling Wishing she was somewhere else instead One of us is lonely One of us is only Waiting for a call A song by ABBA

Thursday, June 21, 2007

The Third Scenario

In the third Scenario of my new story "The second chance" the girl leaves her partner after suffering from his selfshness and self centered character, only to discover a part of her character that she didn't notice or may be didn't want to admit. Ask me for the details ;)

Thursday, June 07, 2007

The Second Chance

"It was not easy to remove him from her life, uprooting a tree always leaves a hole in the ground, deep and profound one. What she was doing during the last months was attempting to refill the hole or to hide it from everyone even herself" Having a female character at the centre of events, breaking up was her decision after considerable suffering. She managed for quite some time to overcome the pains of the past and live without him. But when she receives an email from her ex asking for a second chance, the story moves in three different scenarios. The first scenario has betrayal as the main theme, the deeply wounded betrayed woman expresses her pains and bitterness with strong insulting words: "No, I'm sorry, I lost my respect to you when I knew how animal like you were. I lost my trust in you with the endless lies, with the number of times you swore and you were lying, with the lies you kept telling me even after I knew about your sordidly sinful other side, which is actually the real you. And after all this you expect me to be back to you but why? Let's talk logic, what is so special about you to make me hang on you forever? I was just healing my wounds and trying to escape from the trauma of being deceived and as soon as I was regaining my self confidence that you so sordidly shattered you just open all my wounds anew. I can't understand you and I hope I will never do. I’m really happy with my inability to understand you; human beings never understood how animals behave...." The second scenario has no betrayal, it's more about human weakness in front of love, she surrenders to her heart and gives him the second chance: "Just having his name in her inbox erased all the bad things he did to her and, just reading the first few words started that eternal dominoes effect inside her heart. That deeply wounded smashed heart rose from its ruins just like the legendary phoenix, her stupid weak wounded heart won the battle at the end. She was clicking on the reply button and starting to figure out what she would say but she found herself snatching her mobile phone and dialing his number that she has already deleted from her list. She had the number carved in her brain and she dialed it slowly, each press on a button was like touching a part of his warm body, she didn’t plan what she would say, the river doesn’t need a guide to reach its end..." The Third scenario is still under construction, it has to be something completely different :)

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Why people forget what they do?

Human beings usually tend to forget the bad things they did. And after sometime they even hate anything or anyone that reminds them of these bad things, but God is there, watching and managing. People say what goes round comes round, and God says in the holly Kor2an "Whoever has done an atom weight of good shall see it and whoever has done an atom weight of evil shall see it"

Sunday, May 27, 2007

The Tulip is back to The Desert

I'm back to my country, my work, my beloved family and friends and back to all the things that I love and hate here. The last three months were a lifetime experience and were the best of all my life. I worked, had fun, made friends, travelled around Europe, had huge doses of art, culture and beauty, I challenged myself and stretched it into far away horizons. In short, I fulfilled one of my dreams and got back with enormous power to live and give. I'm back to my lovely blog and at first I thought of deleting some of the previous posts or comments but when I thought about it, I decided to leave it as it is, let this blog be something like a life book, witnessing things that happened to me and emotional states that I had over the last year and more to come as well. So I'm back and will be posting about my experience in Europe where I felt like home, isn't Europe the natural home of tulips?

Saturday, February 17, 2007

I'm going to Germany!

I will be leaving you soon and going to Germany doing some practical work in my master thesis (I'm doing my masters in Medicinal Plants) Basically my stay there is for only three months but frankly speaking I will do my best to make them longer, as long as possible. I'm leaving on Tuesday Feb 20 Enshaallah. Doing research in Germany has been my dreams for over ten years now, since my first days in the Faculty of Pharmacy I found myself drawn to the medicinal plants study, we call it Pharmcognosy, a huge subject that we study it over four years. That was when I started to develop this passion for medicinal plants, herbal medicine, alternative medicine and other related sciences. Knowing that pharmacy started by herbal medicine in ancient Egypt with the pharaohs who were the pioneers in such science in addition to the chinese, Indians, Greeks and Romans. Soon the Muslims became the pioneers in this science as well as many other sciences and during the great Islamic civilisation the first pharmacy was opened in Bagdad, a small shop selling herbs and herbal preparations that was established from Sandal wood, then came to be called Sandaleya and from thisthe word Saydala originated. I think most of you have heard about Tazkaret Dawood, one of the oldest medicinal textbooks focusing on Herbs. During the eighteenth century, the leadership moved to Europe and for hundreds of years it nourished with preparing plant extracts, isolating active compounds and doing tests on animals and humans. This whole era was crowned by the discovery of Penicillin from a kind of fungus and then preparing its synthetic analogue from chemicals. Same happened with aspirin that is originally an extract from the willow bark (Salix alba) and its synthetic analogue was prepared in the lab under the name of Acetyl Salicylic Acid that was soon called aspirin. By the begining of the twentieth century, most herbal drugs were replaced with synthetic ones and the industry of medicine became one of the bigest Buisness in the world. Only by the end of the twentieth century people started to notice the harmful effects of synthetic drugs and it was the back to nature call that drew the attention to herbal medicne once again. Of all the countries of the world, Germany is the mother and center of modern herbal medicine research. With huge investment in research, production and progress of herbal medicines. So finally I'm going to Germany, a dream that is coming true and a huge challenge in my life, personal and career wise but I'm ready for that. I will need your wishes and prayers, I'm sure you all wish me the best and your love will keep me warm in the cold loneliness of Germany.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

From the Deserts of Siwa

I have decided to go to this remote part of Egypt escaping from the pollution I have been suffering from lately. Pollution of this modern stressful life I have to live inevitably. My life is polluted, not only from the car exhaust turning the air into a nightmare of horrible smells and suffocation, not only from the water of the Nile polluted by all kinds things thrown in it and destroying the once sacred and worshiped river. My life is polluted by people themselves, by liars and deceivers, by ungratefulness, betrayal, disappointment, acting and all kinds of evil that humans do as part of their daily lives without even asking themselves why am I doing this, what is the consequences, who will suffer from this and is what I am doing really worth the results, is it right or wrong. Questions that are simple and logic but Alas, no one asks himself any of these questions until it’s too late. So I decided to go as far as I can escaping from all this to Siwa, a land of virgin beauty, of pure kind people who trust each other without thinking, who leave their shops open and go around feeling very secure, who are so caring and warm with everyone, who are so cheerful and happy in spite of living a simple primitive life in a very harsh environment and hostile nature. In Siwa I found the purity I was looking for and in its springs I managed to wash the stains of this life and forget a lot of things I wanted to forget. Siwa had a very important place in the pharaonic civilization; the ancient Egyptians believed that this remote Oasis belongs to the God Amoun-Ra who represents the united god of Ra (the sun) and Amoun (The moon) From this point, situated in the far west of Egypt, the God leaves our world to go and rule his other world of eternal lives, leaving the world in the darkness of his departure only to rise again strong and mighty. That is why the oasis is sometimes called the Sunset Oasis. But Siwa became a celebrated place in history during the Greek era in Egypt after the famous pilgrimage of the legendary Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great to the Amoun Temple in the oasis. A huge coronation ceremony was awaiting the young prince in the temple and from there he became the Pharaoh of Egypt, the son of Amoun and a God himself after the divine soul of the God Horus replaced his human soul. It was there that Alexander met the Oracle of the temple whose prophecies was the driving force for the young king who was 26 at that time to conquer the world with insatiable power. For the next seven years, Alexander conquered most of the known world at that time and his kingdom reached the far east, as far as India and Caucasus. The legend of Alexander ended when he was 33 by Malaria which infected him in the jungles of India. It is believed by many historians that the great king ordered his fellows to be buried in the oasis beside his father the God Amoun-Ra. I started my first day by renting a bicycle and going around, roaming the narrow paths between the palm trees, going to the open deserts, climbing up and down and watching the beauty of this untouched nature, inhaling the fresh clear odorless air as much as my lungs could take. I visited the spring of Cleopatra, the temple of Amoun wondering how the coronation of Alexander in such place was thousands of years ago. I got several warnings from the native people not to travel alone between the fields at night as I might get encountered by the demons who guard the tombs and treasures buried there, my curiosity to meet any of these creatures prevented me from listening to their advice and I took my bicycle late at night, wandering for hours in the dark fields but without meeting any creature. The second day was a long safari that started early in the morning, we took a 4x4 car and roamed the deserts, enjoying the unlimited view, the virgin land, the clear pure air and the serenity of the moments. A long bath in the hot spring, a natural hot spring just in the middle of the desert and only some meters away another spring but with ice cold water. The sand duning as amazing, the car going up in a steepy sand dune only to go down from the other side, I don’t know why I imagined life with its ups and downs, yes it’s very much like sand duning, you go up with difficulty and effort and only when you reach the peak it’s time to go down again only to get encountered by another dune and so on. It was life in its simple unnoticed fact. I visited the old ruins of Shali, the remains of the mud houses that have been washed away by rain showers in 1926 standing there as a symbol and lesson, nothing lasts forever, everything will end someday and will leave only a symbol, a memory, a monument that is roamed by people, photographed by tourists and visitors and inspiring writers and poets. I enjoyed my days in Siwa so much, the purity everywhere, the friendly people, the nature and the food. In Siwa I met people from all over the world as a lot of foreigners come to visit this beautiful oasis for tourism, medical treatment and like me escaping from their lives. I made good friends with Al from Ireland, Keesan from Japan, Claudio and Juliano, a couple from Italy, Jenny and Albert, a couple from Australia, I met nice people from Alexandria with their famous cheerful attitude, I will never forget Elham, Dina, Reham, Mustafa, Tarek, Ahmad and Mohamed. From the beautiful native people of Siwa it was easy to make friends with beautiful people like Mohamed, Hassan, Ahmed, Fakhr, Hussein and Saber. It was a good decision to go to Siwa, I really found what I was looking for. A place I will never forget and purity of land and people we all need in this life we are living among people who know nothing but lies and deceit. I invite everyone to go to Siwa, may be there you can find the purity you need and may be in its everlasting springs you can wash away some of this evil and come back with some of the good things that God planted in our human nature in addition to this evil.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Spring in Winter

It's raining heavily, the wind is blowing The cold is more than we could bare But I cannot feel but warm For your heart radiates warmth everywhere Your world is always in spring A world where winter doesn't dare

A True Heart

The sweetness of your presence and the warmth of your heart Brought me back again to the point from which I did part For although this world is full of liars There is still a true heart

Sunday, February 04, 2007

I'm still a Tulip

My failure with you is my greatest success. My inability to grow in your desert is the biggest proof that I'm still a Tulip

The Closed Door

Closing your door gave me the chance to turn around and look at many opened windows from which I can see wonderful things in the world, things I could have never seen from this back door.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

A way Back

I never planned a way back for myself A way of escaping from my life with you Only the fox's home will have a backdoor For the evil expects evil from others too But the rabbit never thinks of a back door "Why another door when I already have one to go through?" He who loves is always blind When he wakes up it's too late for anything to do Everything in life has a price But we only know this when the paying time is due

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

I was your tulip

I was the stupid tulip, planted in your desert and expecting to survive!

I was your candle

I was your candle that you didn't light Helping you to find your way in the darkness of the night And when you started to see the the first rays of the morning light You threw the candle away and thought it was right You didn't even wait till it melts away you wanted it out of your sight But the night came again, for after the day there's always night You went back to the candle wanting more of its light Now you want it back in your life with all your might But the candle is broken and will never again stand upright The candle lost its wick and without the wick how can a candle light?

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The play has to end

Even the longest play will end someday Even the strongest actor will need some time to be his real self The most well-written story is still a story

No Angels on Earth

Angels do not live on Earth. Whenever you meet one be sure that one day you will discover he was a human being smart enough to act like an angel with those who still believe in angels but never for too long.

Life is a Train

Life is a Train that never waits for late passengers Life is a Train that never brings you back to where it picked you from Life is a Train that never stops Life is a Train that never tells you when or where will be your next stop

What I did to you and what you did to me

I was building you only to discover that I was starting my downfall. I was taking you upstairs to give you the chance to see the world from a higher place, you threw me to see how a person falls from a height. I was planting you in me and when you grew in my soil you went for another leaving me a deep groove. I was helping you to forget your past and when you did you hated the only person who can remind you of this past. I was trying to make you find yourself and when you found it you lost me.

The Wounded Deer

Like a wounded deer which hides in a cave until it gets cured or dies, I'm hiding from you and the whole world, wait for me and you will get either me or my dead body...

I will be back

I will be back only when I think I can look at you without being able to see the dirty traces left by other people on the once white snow. I will be back only when I learn to deal with you as a sinfull human being not an angel. I will be back only when I'm strong enough to get over my shock and grief. Only then I will be back...

The Apple and The Mud

You have seen an apple on the ground and you liked it. You picked up the apple, licked the mud and liked its taste more than the apple, go for the mud as your tongue will never be able to know how apples taste like

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

I am your Earth and you are my tree

I am your Earth and you are my tree, you are deeply rooted in me. You need me to live and I need you to feel alive. How can the earth loose a deeply rooted tree without leaving a profound groove that nothing else can fill?