"Smelling the Breeze"

     All of Egypt was celebrating something this past long weekend. First came the Easter services, followed by Sham el-Nessim (explained later).There were all day liturgical services on Friday.  Thursday through Saturday, black draperies with the symbolic Coptic cross were found throughout the churches.

Then on Saturday night from 8:00 to 11:30, Coptic Christians gathered for a mass to end the long lenten season and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Here, a procession of all the men and cherubic boys and youth serving at the altar in "our" cathedral make a procession around the church following a picture icon of Jesus on the cross which folks on the sides reached out to touch as it passed. After this service, we were again invited to dine with the bishop, the priests, the nuns and orphans and finally retired at 2:30 a.m.

  

On Sunday, this church held an all-day "fair" with entertainment for youth and a score of adorable children. We discovered some amazing ice-cream that we didn't know existed.

     Finally, the national holiday known as Sham El-Nessim, or "smelling the breezes" came on Monday. This spring celebration began at least 4,500 years ago in the pharonic age and was a celebration of renewal of life and the beginning of the agricultural growing season. To this day, people everywhere fill the parks and beaches with their colored eggs, scallions, smoked and salted fish called "fiseekh".  The tradition of eating this fish comes from the ancient practice of storing and salting fish from the Nile when it flooded and deposited an over abundance of fish on the banks around people's homes before the dams were built. This fish smells and tastes like it was kept for thousands of years claim some of my students who declared I'd go back to the U.S. and never return if I tasted it...hmmm.

Here some folks are setting up their cloth  "tent" for the day in a nearby park that is usually rather empty. I investigated one large circle of people and found a man and his wife and son performing simple magic tricks with a stick, an egg, a funnel with water, and a drum. Bystanders threw a few coins or bills into the center to show their appreciation.

Not a giant croquet set!

These are the frames for the rows of tents that were then set up the next day by the Mediterranean, as you can see below.

Muslim women in long black skirts take to the water along with everyone else. I met one young lady fully covered, dripping from head to toe, who had just come out of the water and stood there shivering, trying to talk English with me. Her younger brother and his friends then repeated the two lines most children try on us: "What's your name? and Welcome to Port Said" or "how old are you?"   It doesn't seem like they ever get much beyond the first day's lesson in English. Their father finally said something to the children and suddenly the boy said to us: "go!"  Don't know what that was all about. Did the parent think they had bugged us long enough, or was there some other reason? One of my students said some Egyptians are afraid of everything and everyone.  So many questions...
      In the far end of the beach, we meet the walking innertubes.  Here and there, horses would gallop past us with young fellows bending into the wind, enjoying the ride.  Some folks were flying kites with bright colors and long streamers.  It was a truly gorgeous 70-degree day to smell the breezes.