C is for Culinary Capers

Instead of the usual caper flower photos that I like to post, this year I’d thought I’d share the little, immature flower buds – the culinary capers so often used in Mediterannean cuisine. While capers are not used in traditional Egyptian dishes, the bushes are quite abundant here and Egypt does produce and market pickled capers. (Try the ones from Wadi Food.)

The flower buds pictured here were collected by my husband and I yesterday on a hike through a nearby desert wadi. This is the second year we will harvest and pickle our own capers – and then enjoy them on pizzas, pastas, and more! The Bedouin of South Sinai pickle the caper berries, but not the buds.

Read more:

Capers – New Crop FactSHEET from Purdue University

Do-it-yourself capers – a picking and pickling guide

Homemade Pickled Capers, Caper Leaves, and Caper Berries

C is for a Couple of Cute Camels

Yep, camels again. I just can´t resist pulling over to the side of the road and trying to capture their cute little faces. These two came right on over to be pictured up close. Their other family members, including a nursing mother and little one, decided to stay in the background, munching away on desert greens.

C is for Cuddly Cats!

Cats, cats, cats! They have been in Egypt since ancient times. Besides being useful in catching mice and other pests, cats were also worshipped by ancient Egyptians. They were believed to have magical powers and to provide protection. While cats may not be as honored today as they once were, visitors to modern Egypt will see a plethora of their descendants roaming the city streets. The cat above, however, is lucky to live in Dahab, where cats are still worshipped, in their own way. The cats roam freely in and out of all the restaurants and cafeterias along the shore, rubbing up against the legs of tourists, curling up in willing laps, and being fed delicious scraps of leftovers from the tourists’ meals. If this bothers you, waiters will provide you with a squirt bottle to keep the cats at bay until you clean your plate. They don´t bother me though. They are one of the joys of spending an afternoon on the shore. The kitten pictured here kept my husband and I company for two weeks at Bishbishi camp where we stayed while waiting to move into our house. And I love his pose – he looks just like any visitor to Dahab should after a day of playing in the sun!

If you´re an animal-lover and are interested in helping the animals of Egypt, check out these local organizations:

Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals

Egyptian Society of Animal Friends

Egyptian Mau Rescue Organization

C is for Cute, Curious Camels

While hiking this past weekend in Wadi G’Nai (near Dahab), I spotted three camels in the distance, lazily crunching on cactus. As we walked, I slowly veered toward them, knowing that I wanted to get some shots of my favorite animal. The camels noticed my approach and occasionally lifted and turned their heads in my direction. When I was still (in my mind) a safe distance away, the closest camel sauntered right up to me and asked to have his photo taken! Okay, so he really didn’t talk to me, but each of these cute and curious camels took a turn following me around until I got several shots of each of them.

I love camels, which you probably know if you’ve read my book or followed this blog. And I’m looking forward to our first ever camel race here in Dahab next week during the Dahab Bedouin Festival. It’s on from May 14th to 20th. (The camel race is the 17th.) Click here to view the schedule of events.

Visit my Zazzle store to see this cute camel face on a postcard and other products. 

C is for Caper

Caper Flower – click for full size image

Our very first caper flower, on a caper bush we grew from seeds collected in the wild! It bloomed last night and these are shots from throughout the day today. The unopened flower buds that you see are what are harvested and sold as “capers”. Hopefully next year, we’ll have enough to harvest a handful or two, but this year we’ll wait for the fruit!

Related Articles

• What are Capers? (brainz.org)

C: Colored Eggs for S: Sham el Nessim

Okay, so they’re not the most spring-colored eggs, but I do think they match our rocky Sinai mountains! And Sham el Nessim is not complete without a basket of colorful eggs. Today in Egypt, the Monday after Coptic Christian Easter, the country celebrates Sham el Nessim, literally meaning “sniff the breeze”. This spring festival dates back to the time of the pharaohs but is still celebrated as a national holiday by both Muslims and Christians. Today, Egyptians will spend the day outside in gardens or any green space they can find – along the Nile, at the zoo – and enjoy the fresh breeze. Traditionally, people eat feseekh (a salted, and very smelly fish), green onions, lettuce, termis (lupini beans)…and colored boiled eggs.

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and sniff the breeze!

Happy Sham el-Nessim by bernadettesimpson
Browse more Egypt Cards

C: Camels

More camels!

These two baby camels were seen a few years ago wandering along the Dahab-Sharm road.  It must be that time of the year because I saw several more young camels on my drive to Sharm last week. (Unfortunately I couldn’t stop for photos because the sides of the road are still flood-damaged!)

Hopefully they’ll look both ways before crossing the street!

More about camels.

C: Creative Commons

Okay, time for the truth about Creative Commons and the answer to:

What does it mean if a photo is released under a CC-license?

While there is no ONE right answer to this question, there are definitely some wrong ones. Let’s consider the questions from my previous post:

* It does more than just tell you the photographer or author.

* You can download the photo for free, but you can’t always do whatever you want with it.

* You do not need to ask permission to use CC-licensed work.

* Sometimes you can alter and even sell the work.

* You never have to pay to use a CC-licensed work.

So, what is Creative Commons and what can you do with these photos? Creative Commons is a non-profit corporation that provides licensing material to creators who would like to share their work for free.

There are 6 licenses that creators can choose and each one has different restrictions. Here’s my summary of each:

C: Creative Commons

Sorry – no Egypt today – let’s talk  licensing instead.

Some of you may have read the information in my sidebar about my blog being released under a Creative Commons (CC) license and wondered what it was all about. I’d love to share more information about this project because it is especially useful to teachers and students – and other aspiring writers. Let’s start our discussion by finding out what you already know – or think you know – about Creative Commons:

C: Camel Hoof Tree

C is for the Camel Hoof Tree

Bauhinia variegata is known in Arabic as “Khuff el-Gamal“, or the Camel Hoof. Notice the shape of the leaves resembles a camel’s hoof. Common names in English include Orchid Tree and Mountain Ebony. According to the book The Street Trees of Egypt, “the tree is native of India and China, and is used for food, medicine, dyeing, tanning, gum, and for farm implements.”