Last Friday, we went up to Mokkatam. VB does volunteer work for an agency located in the area. As we were driving up, it rained. That was somewhat unbelievable, since it was the second rain in a week, and it almost never rains in Egypt. As VB was leaving the agency, someone recommended she drive to the Mokkatam Corniche, as he thought the view this day would be a good one. As you can see, there are a lot of new buildings in this area of town.
(Below): Coming up from behind, a Vanagon.
(Below): Taking over.
(Below): Passing us up.
(Below): Looks like a VW T5. It's not in VB's Volkswagens Of The World, by Simon Glen (he pretty much ends at the T4.) We were just passing by, and didn't get to stop for a look-see, so this is our best guess. From Wiki: "The T5 is the fifth generation of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles medium sized commercial Transporter and people mover Caravelle/Multivan ranges which is sold on every continent except Antarctica. T5 series was launched in 2003 and replaced the fourth generation T4 Transporter series." Narrowing it down to a Caravelle or any other specific model, at this point is impossible. The T5 below is just a stripped down version.
(Below): At the shopping area of Mokkatam.
(Below): The advice was spot on. The view was amazing. On this day you can even see the Nile and the Pyramids. The Mokkatam Corniche is splattered with small sheesha joints, which apparently do a good business in the evenings. You may need to enlarge the photo to see the Giza Pyramids.
(Below): Just to the left (south) from the Giza Pyramids are the Saqqara Pyramids. Unfortunately, VB couldn't fit them all into one photo. You will definitely have to enlarge this one to see them.
(Below): Others along the edge, smoking sheesha and enjoying the unusually clear view. Just beyond the hill, you can make out part of The Citadel.
(Below): As we were on our way back, parked on a side street, we spotted a Bus in decent condition.
(Below): And again, as we pass it by, VB just misses a red Beetle.
Over the course of the last week, VB has drafted five Funkengroovin posts, and remained undecided, until this morning, regarding which one she wanted to publish. Rather than go back into that long weekend, which did not have any VWs, she decided to hop over to last Thursday morning. That's when VB decided to return to the American Embassy to pick up her new passport. The embassy closes the last Tuesday of each month. But, in February, they decided to close "for administrative duties" on Thursday, as well. VB forgot to take note of this, when she visited their website. So, of course, her whole trip was a waste of time. The driver exclaimed, "A three day weekend!" VB said, "Yeah, and believe me when I tell you, that things in the USA are just as messed up as they are in Egypt." That's when VB decided to go into the story of Number One Son's passport experience two years ago, as expressed here, here, and here. The driver, well, of course he thought it was hysterical.
So, for the record, the only Funkengroovin photo VB could capture was one along the Nile Corniche (below.)
When VB got home, she immediately scheduled a driver for a Monday morning return to the Embassy. Before getting out of Maadi, at the KIMO grocery store roundabout, an officer pulled us over. It was the same thing we experienced two weeks earlier. The driver said, the police are checking all duty free cars. Most duty free autos are owned by western companies, and provided to the employees, and / or are a part of the pool of cars available to visitors. This time, VB was not in her own car, but one from the pool.
How does one tell if he / she has a duty free car? Apparently, it's written on the license plate.
"The Ministry of Interior is putting an end to the existing incongruent car plates of varying colours and sizes and instead will regulate them throughout the country starting in August."
"Various colours have been assigned to differentiate between cars. Orange car plates are for taxis, sky blue for private cars, dark blue for police cars, brown for rentals, red for trucks and pickups and green for diplomats."
"Driving in the USA, even in crazy busy traffic, is still tame by Buenos Aires standards. After spending 6 months in Buenos Aires, a city that has crazy busy traffic with mere traffic suggestions as opposed to traffic laws, I thought I was ready for anything... and then I saw Cairo traffic."
"Word is that Blackstar has a long rantpost about traffic deficiencies in Lebanon on the way so let me take this occasion to announce “Traffic Week” at MediaShack. Each day I will be tell a different story about life behind the wheels in Egypt."
"In most Western cities for example, you would never see a taxi driver passing a cigarette to another taxi driver while they’re both rolling next to each other at 50 km/hour on a busy motorway. And until I had witnessed that from the backseat of the cigarette-soliciting taxi in Cairo, I had never even wondered whether this was legal or not."
"It really seems as if there is no law enforcement here with regards to traffic regulation. You can drive at night with no headlights, pedestrians routinely walk in the street instead of the sidewalk, EVERYONE honks their horns ALL THE TIME, and it's not completely uncommon to see a car going the wrong way down a one way street."
A conference where the new traffic laws will be discussed is coming to Cairo soon. The Euromoney Egypt Insurance Conference 2009 Under the auspices of HE Dr Ahmed Nazif, Prime Minister of Egypt “Mobilising Egypt’s Insurance Market” 31 March 2009, The FourSeasons Nile Plaza, Cairo
"Keynote Address: HE Mr Mohamed Mansour, Minister of Transport * Panel IV: Roads, Transportation & the New Traffic Law • How have roads and transportation developed in the past few years? • Have these developments reduced the claims related to insurance? • Pooling arrangements • The development of the traffic law • The importance of law no. 72 and the new government fund • How to reduce accidents and manage risks • Development of a database linked with the Ministry of Interior and the insurance companies • What is the feasibility of establishing the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety?"
"Why does traffic behave differently in different places? Why does driving in Cairo set the nerves on edge, while in Munich people stoically wait for crossing signals, even at minor intersections?"
"The minders took us to Tripoli's museum, a mix of fantastic Roman art and Brother Gaddafi memorabilia. Pride of place was the Volkswagen Beetle that the Leader had driven in the early days of the revolution. Upstairs were walls covered with photos of....you guessed it, Brother Gaddafi. In his day he really was the coolest-looking young rebel in the Arab world. "
"Wanted: Buckeye fanatic to carry on tailgating tradition in 1970 VW pop-top camper van. Only scarlet-and-gray nuts need apply. Buckeye Bob Bulen is one such nut. From 1975 until early last fall, the former Franklin County Municipal Court chief bailiff went to every Ohio State University football game, home and away, including the day he got married.
But Bulen's now retired, from his court job and his 401-game streak, and he's looking to pass the torch -- his tailgating van -- to a similarly passionate fan.
He's reluctant to part with the van and its memories, Bulen said in a telephone interview from Arizona. "But if I can find a really good Buckeye fan who'll take care of it, I won't have any problem.""
"History tells us differently, though. The first hybrid in the world is widely acknowledged to be the Lohner-Porsche of 1902, created by none other than 27-year-old Ferndinand Porsche, who would go on to be celebrated as the namesake of today's undeniably successful Porsche AG, not to mention the creator of the German "People's Car" later known as the Volkswagen Beetle."
"The German artist Martin Kippenberger was obsessed with the Ford Capri and turned the car into art. He is the subject of a show that opened at the Museum of Modern Art on Sunday, and the exhibition includes two of his Capri pieces."
"Built in Cologne, Germany, the Capri was even imported into the United States and sold at Mercury dealers, first simply under the Capri name and later as the Mercury Capri. It was a market counterpart to the Ford Mustang. (Later, Mercury called another small, sporty car the Capri; that one was imported from Australia.)"
"Dubai continues to suffer from the global economic crisis. The latest casualty is a Formula One theme park, which halted construction on Thursday."
VB was pretty disappointed in her passport trip. Not only did she not get to ride in the family car (which always has extremely clean windows for picture taking), the car she was in smelled weird, and the windows were full of schmutz. Plus, she then had to wait over an hour just to do something that took less than five minutes. Oh, and her new passport sucks, too. At least the old one said it was issued in Abu Dhabi. The new one looks like a standard State Department issued passport, with no notation of where it was released. It's all stiff, just like a new pair of shoes.
On the return trip from Garden City, where the embassy is located, we drove along the Nile Corniche. As we were just getting ready to cross the bridge over the Metro tracks, we were stopped once again, by the traffic police. Same thing. They were checking all duty free cars. They jot down some information on a form, and then wave us off. If they would just issue a window sticker, after the car had been checked once, they wouldn't have duplicate car checks, nor would they have drivers and passengers that were fed up after going through multiple check-points, in what seems to be an exercise in futility.
No music today. This is VB's favorite video right now. If you like this, you will like the Vanity Fair interview: Louis C.K.: “Starvation Can Be Character Building”, where he is asked: "When the time comes to trade in our gas-guzzling cars for donkeys and clanking cans, will you be the first to volunteer?" As someone who constantly sees donkeys and carts, where cars and trucks usually drive, it's a bit hard to imagine Americans riding along on an ass, just because they can't afford a car anymore. It's also what's so damned frustrating about the new traffic laws. As well intentioned as they are, they do not account for the dichotomy of life in Egypt: the rural vs. the metropolitan, and how entwined they are. And, in order to put a sticker on a car, to verify that it has been through a traffic check, you don't need no stinking technology either.
Everything is amazing, nobody is happy...
BTW, Vanity Fair has a Gay Car blog, called Stick Shift. You might want to check it out.
A week or so ago, VB decided to go out for some Italian bread. At first she was going to drop in on the Fino Bakery, but decided, at the last minute to go around the corner and up the street, to the new Italian store, La Bottega Italiana. It's a tiny shop in Degla, located on Road 231, just between Crabs Corner (don't ask) and the Maadi Duty Free. BTW, just a note for those of you living in Maadi, a Subway is opening across from the Duty Free. Ever since the Quiznos on Road 9 closed quite suddenly (Wonder what happened? Maybe something like this.), VB has had a hankering for a subway style sandwich. She doesn't usually eat them in the States, but for some odd reason, craves things that aren't readily available here in Egypt. (When she has money, she can never find anything to buy, and when she's broke everything is appealing. It's that sort of mentality that is ruling VB's desire for a subway sandwich.)
La Bottega Italiana, to quote from the menu: "Il Supermarket dei prodotti italiani D.O.C. Formaggi, panini, colazioni e piatti pronti." Or, from their English translation: "Supermarket of Italian D.O.C. products. Cheese, sandwiches, breakfasts and pre-cooked dishes." Or in VB's words: fresh homemade pizzas, breads, salads, cakes, along with an assortment of pastas, cheeses, and real Italian salamis. VB bought some bread, salami and vegetarian pizzas, as it was a Thursday afternoon. Plus, The Boss Man was supposed to be going out for a beer after work, and he was not sure when he'd be home for dinner. The pizza was good, and able to deal with extra microwave time (melting the cheese), without getting rubbery.
This collection of photos pretty much represents a day in the life of VB, but read beyond, as this day turns into one long weekend.
(Below 3 photos): A VW Bus broke down near VB's apartment.
(Below): After purchasing her goods from La Bottega Italian, VB decided to trek on over to Road 216, where she has seen a silver Beetle parked. On the way she encountered an interesting two-tone Bug.
(Below 3 photos): The silver Beetle - It has two flats, thus the reason why it hasn't moved for awhile. VB has only seen this car while driving by, and wanted a better look at it.
(Below 4 photos): Rather than walk back on Road 216 along Victory College, which is busy, and has a roundabout, VB decided to cut through some side streets. The Brown, and the very dirty, yellow Bug below, are what VB found.
(Below 3 photos): A s the day grew into night, VB spotted this Bug parked near her apartment. She converted the original photo to the "antique" effect offered on iPhoto, as the color came out too dark on the car. It was a very light shade of blue, which distorted under the flash. This actually shows a truer shade.
As VB was taking the photo, a young man walking down the street decided to chime in. It turned out, he was in Cairo for training with a company he just joined. He asked VB if she was married to the black man, from Aswan, wearing a gellabaya, joking with her (the boab). VB was wearing jeans, sneakers, and a sweater. "No," she laughed at this stranger, and they began to chat. It turned out that the stranger was staying nearby, in the same business as The Boss Man, and VB told him to stop by for a visit. As it turns out, the stranger did - the next night, while The Boss Man and VB had just started to watch Burn After Reading. The stranger is German, (from East Germany,) and was very happy with his new job. He will be traveling to London, Dubai, and Huston, Texas just to name a few places. He doesn't drink or smoke, and is a vegetarian. He's pretty new to worldwide business associated travel, and the possibility of moving his family to a new country. We spent the rest of the evening talking with him. His visit was the beginning of our strange weekend.
The next night, while we tried to watch Burn After Reading again, a neighbor stopped by to drop off a piece for a Blaupunkt radio his dad had given The Boss Man earlier in the day (for our Beetle renovation). The radio is an original VW installed Blaupunkt, from the early 60's.
Back to the movie.
Then The East German dude stops by to drop off his business card on his way to the airport.
Back to the movie.
A while later, the doorbell rings. VB thought, "Oh finally - this must be our Nestle water delivery." (We hadn't had a delivery for three weeks.) No it's not the water. A man who speaks no English hands VB a cell phone. The man on the other end, who sounds like he's at wit's end, says, "You are on road number..., building number...yes!" VB (with a totally confused look on her face): "That's right." Caller: "Would you kindly point to the white villa next door, for this man!?" VB turns and points to the villa next door, while wondering if someone is watching. The non-English speaking man nods, takes the phone, and walks away. Since we live on the ground floor, we are often the ones who answer the main doorbell, particularly on Fridays when the boab is off and the main building door is locked; Or it's our doorbell everyone rings because they're looking for someone else (the mailman, delivery people - especially McDonald's for the kids upstairs.) But, this was one of the weirder visits we've received.
Back to the movie - finally!
After getting through, Burn After Reading, we proceeded to finish off the whole weekend with RocknRolla and Bottle Shock. All three are excellent movies. Well, okay - RocknRolla is a typical Guy Ritchie movie. After watching a scene from Bottle Shock, where Alan Rickman eats KFC in his car, we decided we absolutely needed a bucket of greasy, fried chicken to finish off the weekend. (They deliver everywhere, except in the USA.)
(Below): Shots from Bottle Shock, which is set in 1976 and has all sorts of French and American (and a few VW) cars in scenes. (Now if VB could get rid of those noisy rainbow TV lines that show up in the photos.)
(Below): An intern to the winery shows up in a Beetle that looks like it was plucked from the streets of Cairo. She drives in with a flat, a missing headlight, two-toned, and plenty of dents.
Remember the Dog On The Car mentioned here, here, and here? Well, there's a new dog in town, just about a block away from the other one, along Canal Road, in Maadi. The old Dog On A Car hasn't been on top of a car for some time now. We think he's a pet Baladi, whereas the one below is definitely a street dog.
There's always VW accidents throughout the news, when VB does her weekly search for articles. This one involves a diplomat, and for those of us who have lived overseas, who are subject to the local laws, diplomatic immunity is always a thorny issue. 'Drunk diplomat's wife' kills man
"Adonis Ndudule, 24, from Ormonde View in the south of Johannesburg, stopped a few hundred metres before the 14th Avenue offramp when the engine of his Volkswagen Beetle started giving trouble."
"A member of ER24's emergency services apparently passed the Beetle just before the accident and had seen the car with its flashing hazards parked in the emergency lane.
Ndudule was inspecting the engine, which is mounted in the rear of the Volkswagen Beetle, when he was hit from behind by the Clio. He died on impact."
"A search on the eNaTIS vehicle system revealed that the Clio was registered to the Malaysian embassy."
""We were not allowed to arrest her at the scene - even though she may have been reckless - because she has diplomatic immunity," said Inspector Edna Mamonyane, Johannesburg' s metro police spokesperson."
"Here's a story I've been meaning to tell since I started writing for Jalopnik: how it came to be that I love junkyard-built, low-budget, primered-out heaps so much. You can blame this '58 Volkswagen!"
"Well, he is back...and back with a stylish vengeance. Meyers took the simple Manx dune buggy design and has brought it to the next level-the Manxter 2+2. The Manxter 2+2 takes the original concept into the 21st century with tried-and-true ideas and cutting-edge technology and style."
"Tom Conroy knows what Bank of America smells like.
He can also tell you the scents for Macy's, McDonald's and Westin Hotels.
Conroy is chief executive officer of ScentAir, a Charlotte company that creates aromas and sells them for use in stores, museums, at special events and other venues."
"The 911 was revealed in 1963 as an updated, more powerful version of the Porsche 356, which was essentially a Volkswagen Beetle wearing running shoes. Like its VW ancestor, the 911 had an air-cooled, rear-mounted engine, but it was a larger flat-six engine whose signature off-beat growl was a far cry from the unmusical flatulence of the Beetle."
"Consider this though (and leaving aside the barn-burning GT3 and GT2 racing models for now), a modern 911 Carrera- has 385 h.p. and is available with a twin-clutch PDK transmission that lets it rocket to 100 kilometres per hour in slightly more than four seconds with a top speed of 302 km per hour. Yet it will only burn slightly more than eleven litres of fuel for every 100 km of city driving: about the same as a V-6 Honda Accord. It's quiet and refined as only a German sport-luxury car can be, but open it up on a twisty road and the lively spirit of the '60s original can be felt underneath all the satellite navigation and heated seats."
"Combining a 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis sedan and panels from 11 different cars, including a 1957 De Soto, Steve Heller won the Collectible Car of the Year contest."
"The concept of retiring old cars met opposition from car enthusiasts concerned that classic models, valued either as restoration projects or as sources of spare parts, might be scrapped. But it has the backing of public transit advocates, environmentalists and economists, and is seen by some legislators as a better use of tax money than making loans directly to failing automakers.
Under a Senate proposal called the Voluntary Retirement of Fuel-Inefficient Vehicles, consumers who voluntarily turn in cars or trucks that get less than 18 miles a gallon would receive vouchers worth up to $4,500 to help them buy more economical replacements."
From the Washington Post:
"How much do you know about car safety? Take our quiz and test your knowledge -- what you don't know could hurt you."
(Below): Homemade sheesha pipe.
LOST! The new season starts here in Cairo tonight, on Showtime Series channel. VB is going to dinner, with an out of town guest. Showtime usually (but not always, as is the case with The Tudors) reruns programs the following afternoon. VB would like to see the VW Bus, as it shows up again this season. She's not sure she wants to try keeping up with a show she hasn't watched for several seasons, which was confusing to begin with. Maybe she'll just check out episode "316" (link below) when it airs, and leave it at that.
Last week VB went to the American Embassy to get her passport renewed. The trip from Maadi to Garden City, didn't take that long, but the wait at the Embassy takes awhile, even when you get there early. Strange at it may seem, VB never set foot in the Embassy in Abu Dhabi. She visited the embassy in Baku once, to have pages added to her passport. Next week she returns to pick up her passport. After that, she needs a visa, and then she's seriously thinking about getting an Egyptian driver's license. She doesn't drive here, but you never know when you just might have to, and with the new traffic laws, she would be better off having one in her possession. Besides that, it is another form of I.D.
(Below 3 photos): A couple of vans along the way.
(Below): Tire rims and hubcap shop. Some cars have rims on them that cost more the their car did originally. You will often see taxis, trucks, cars all banged up with the flashiest rims they could find.
(Below): VB tried to get a shot of a yellow VW Bus, but this bus driver sped his way into the photo. You can barely make out the VW Bus in the background.
(Below): Beetle on the street, ahead of us.
(Below): Closer to home, on the streets of Maadi, a bright yellow Beetle.
(Below): A nice cabriolet. Sometime in the future, VB hopes to get some better pics.
(Below): The owner of this blue Beetle is well aware of the new law. Notice the slow moving vehicle sticker on the rear. On the other hand, that does break the law: "Sticking posters, or writing, or drawing or adding any other kind of information on the vehicle body or any of its parts or its plate."
"Unlike Auto Egoista, Joann Cohen, Maxwell Smart owned more than one car. He drove a Sunbeam Tiger, VW Karmann Ghia and others in the opening credits of the 1960s spy-spoof sitcom "Get Smart.""
VB wishes she had known about this sooner, as she would have made a trip to The Mena House to check out all the old cars. Anyone who has seen Peking to Paris 2007 on the Travel Channel will relate. They will be doing the Peking to Paris trip again in 2010, and we hope they will return to Egypt, as well. DRIVERS, REV UP YOUR (CLASSIC) ENGINES
"After enduring several grueling days in the dusty, dry Sahara desert, a team of European drivers arrived in Cairo’s luxurious Mena House Oberoi hotel under the shadow of the Pyramids. But this is no Formula One race and these cars are not equipped with electronics, aerodynamics, or revved up engines.
These devoted drivers like their cars classic.
The 15-day competition called The Nile Trial was organized by the Britain-based Endurance Rally Association, which organizes rallies for classical cars. The journey is putting these vintage cars to the test in the merciless heat of the Tunisian, Libyan and Egyptian deserts."
"He asked a neighbor if he knew of any VWs for sale. That’s how he learned of another neighbor’s rusted 1972 Beetle that hadn’t been used in over five years. Hendrickson bought it and parked it in his garage. “It wasn’t much to look at,” he said. “It was full of snakes and fire ants. We had to cut small trees that were growing up through it, and drag it out of the woods.” The car had no fenders or wiring and the body needed a complete overhaul."
Every week, VB sees mention of a showing for Yishai Orian's movie The Beetle. When it was showing in the USA, and near VB's home, it was usually when she was not in town. It's traveling around now, to small film festivals. VB asks: When will the rest of us get to see this movie!? Another related movie, Automorphosis, by Harrod Blank, has recently been on tour around the US, as well. The artcar blogspot has amazing photos of all sorts of vehicles transformed with a variety of "artistic" techniques, which is the subject of the movie. VW specific pages can be found here.
"Of course besides camping the VW is also perfect for a rustic, romantic getaway. This brings me to my second fond memory revolving around the VW Bus. Actually it is about the two best bumper stickers I've ever seen and they were both on a Volkswagen Camper. One read, "if this van's a rockin' don't come a knockin'". This to me was very funny especially because it was on a beat up VW Bus that looked as though it might have followed the Grateful Dead on a few tours back in the day. The other bumper sticker outfitted to a similar looking VW read, "Don't laugh your daughter might be in here"."
Finally, a link VB loaded previously and had all but forgotten. Yes, it's a bit late for New Year greetings, but for those of us looking forward to spring and summer, this might help with some sunny thoughts. Happy New Year - here's a planter made from a discarded Volkswagen
Expat currently living in Egypt. I'm not really a vagabond, but I would like to be. I do own an '87 VW Vanagon Camper (Weekender) and a 1965 VW Beetle Convertible.
I'm more of a rider on the corporate vagabond trail.
Views expressed here are mine and mine alone. If anyone feels insulted by this, or any other posts, don't worry I am a equal opportunity lampooner.
