Friday, May 7, 2010

Allin a mornings walk







After last evenings photos in the dusk, of the new hatch my day started off by going on the roof too see the new chick in daylight. as soon as I opened the pigeon loft door they all panicked and flew over my head to get out so all I had left of twenty birds is what you see. the 4 day old chicks are in the second top row nest box. and the 1/2 day old is in the cardboard box to my right.




Most of the nests have eggs in them so I will take a couple of shots and leave




Two 4 day old, its hard to believe they grow like this in 4 days but the landlord said 4 days putting 4 fingers up. I almost put 2 fingers up to say no way, especially after seeing the size of the hatchling.




ooh what big eyes you have




Even from this shot in 12 hours the feathers are starting to grow what a hand full seems quite content sitting in the palm of my hand. maybe I should feed it so when it opens its eyes it will know me as its parent. did that with a gosling once. but that was hatched in an incubator I left a new hatch in for 12 hours it came out of the egg 12 hours early and because it could not stand upright in the incubator it formed bow legs. so it was my baby for two days while I straightened them up with elastic band wrapped around its knee joints, that duckling thought I was its parent for the rest of its growing up life.









The tailors busy at work in the street as I leave my flat, today's walk was a lets see where I go, usually I know where I want to go for a walk, My time is my own and I never make plans from one day to another. to me that's not living, its like; oh I am supposed to be at so and so and at so and so time,




first corner is an area where the donkey and horse cart drivers wait for the days work some sit here all day just waiting hoping someone is wanting a fridge or whatever moving from one place to another. I get ; need a taxi mister, meaning can I take you somewhere, no thank I have perfectly good legs, and that is always my answer, they ask in the hope that one day maybe I will say yes please my legs no good today,


at this point my intention was today's blog is going to be about the working donkey, but things change depends on what is around the next corner.







This is what gets me here in Egypt , there is no planning in anything they do. there is no health and safety
if you want to build just build, some time during the construction or maybe every day during construction depends on how rich you are , the police will come to make sure all is going to plan with the help of backsheesh. They do not call it corruption not allowed where police are involved. . so I look upon it as paying local tax direct to the police force. and why not its much cheaper than lets say Wales, first we need planning permission that's an expense, then there is payment due on the valuation on how much the project will cost to build. can not pull the wool over their eyes on this and say maybe 100 pounds . the valuer works for the council who is going to get as much from the project as possible , so who are realy the corrupt.
my tax in the uk was almost half my wage, my council property tax on my home is 1400 per year.
the only problem here is that there are no rules as to building private dwellings , so you end up with! look in the photo see how high the front step is from the road , reason? when the make new roads here they do not take the old tarmacadam off they put another layer on top every house I was told had a step into the home before 1970s the reason again was before the high dam stopped the flooding of the Nile. so from that I gather that when the nile was high the streets had water on them yes , well where did the sewage go, what sewage? so we come on to the next Question, that has already been answered, why are the old houses, the ones that people once loved, below road level. some up to 2 foot down.



Breakfast! no not yet its too early come back in twelve months no step up to have breakfast,




Next time the road is tarmacadam there will be a few more step down into properties,




Can not resist taking shots of these once loved houses, with their balconies.




I wonder if there are thieves in Luxor? yes there are;- and victims are very reluctant to go to the police to report thefts, they are questioned as to how could you afford a bike etc,











the steel workers alley,








The rubbish bin alley




Setting up shop her is no problem the Egyptians have a Joke, why cant they play football? because someone has set up shop on the corner,




Time for my cuppa this is a good corner to get accidents there are seven streets merging into one, the main street is dog legged and supposed to be one way but motor bikes, bikes and donkeys drivers seem to have no knowledge of this,
















I wonder how they got all them crisps in the bag without crunching them or did it fall over when he had to brake for the donkey,




Ah well" sigh" when I have my camera at the ready no one obliges me with an accident.




The butcher has been busy making bones of things ,




A brush made from the date palm,




and now we are leaving Luxor center here is tuesday market area



every one is busy today



4 heads and only one tale.



fully air conditioned meat carrier,







no work for the old cadgers! big smile for the camera had to explain I wanted a photo of the alleyway. ha ha,







Someones one time dream villa strange how they spend all the money on building and that's it until it falls down, same with the old houses with the balconies not seen one of them with a new lick of paint.



And another one time beautiful house










One thing that does not need maintenance are these beautiful trees that bloom for 9 months of the year




A load of hashish ( clover grass)on its way for the working Carriage horses in town,













A new mosque







Sun bread rising,



















Just as I was about to turn back for home because My back was starting to play up one of the bee-eaters buzzed passed just above my head, and landed on a wire some 100yds away. thats like showing a red rag to a bull, and there was me thinking they had left on their migratory path. now I do not like this area of luxor first there is a dumping ground to the end of this road and last time I was here I had to cover my face







.


Where there's muck there's brass, an old Yorkshire saying, certainly applies here in Egypt,




getting on this lane it looked OK at first the canal had been cleaned but as I traveled on the smell was starting to get overpowering. then I saw a flock maybe 20 bee-eaters heading of up the lane










And it was a matter of determination to go ahead .Then The reason for the awful smell came to view. A dead horse was dumped in the bed of the canal. i was going to get closer to see if there was some flies i could photo, but this carcass was putrid a real stinker, so I rushed passed the area just beyond was the bee eaters on the wires. but too close to the carcass to stop.






I have the Adam's family to cope with in a minute and another reason why I did not want to come to this area. but another glimpse of the bee eaters made my mind up to go for it.


Today blog is part of the birding blog

the European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster in flight, it took 20 shots to get a decent in flight photo here it is just about to turn around heading back to land on a wire. more on the bee-eater on http://birdinginegypt.blogspot.com/2010/05/european-bee-eater-merops-apiaster-and.html





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I am retired . i came to Egypt after many years doing voluntery work here I refurbished the clinic in Daraw worked there for 6 months and fell in live with Egypt, I then came back to egypt on a holliday and stayed, I was about to retire for health reasons and egypt was the country with a low humidity for my authric condition, I met avery nice taxi driver , and because he was poor and I needed a home here I tried to help him and his family. he on the other hand was a swindler and before long after he swindled me out of my life savings, I found ot he wAS a drug addict with an addiction to opium,an alcoholic , a blackmarketeer in pharaonic items, and since taking him to court he has added a few more things to his credit, he bribes he pays for protection some call it mafia I call it thugery, a forger and a blackmailler. this once nice little man has dcided to be all changed and turned to islam and now he has a nice business can pay me back in instalments totaling the equivellant of 3000 sterling per year, thats 1000 less than i would get in a savings account and three thousand less if H borrowed the money from A bank,