Arafat is Here
Yasser Arafat, the controversial leader of the Palestinians, died Thursday in a hospital outside Paris. Last night he was flown by helicopter to Cairo and his body is now resting a few miles from where we live. (We can see Cairo International Airport from our balcony.) The funeral will take place at a nearby mosque with at least 12 foreign ministers and heads of state attending from around the world. Today is also the first day of our week-long vacation for the El-Aida feast, which marks the end of the Ramadan season. Most of the American teachers are leaving town, and over half of them are unfortunate enough to have plane tickets for today. I hope they can get out, but I’m guessing they will be facing major delays because of the funeral and all the foreign visitors who will be landing for a few hours and then taking off again.
There is a marching band playing nearby, its drums rolling across the street from the vast Harbeya military college. I’m guessing they are practicing for the funeral. According to news reports, a military band will help escort Arafat’s body. President Mubarak has declared 3 days of official mourning in Egypt, where Arafat was born 75 years ago. The US Embassy, meanwhile, has recommended that Americans keep a low profile and avoid places where crowds or demonstrations might occur. We are quite happy with staying in our apartment for a couple days, working on the blog, reading (Faith is reading the 1,000+ page “Cairo Trilogy” by Nobel-prize winner Naguib Mahfouz, who is Egyptian), eating, and otherwise relaxing. I will be sure to include more updates on Arafat as events occur. The funeral is scheduled for 11:00 am, a little under 3 hours from now.
There is a marching band playing nearby, its drums rolling across the street from the vast Harbeya military college. I’m guessing they are practicing for the funeral. According to news reports, a military band will help escort Arafat’s body. President Mubarak has declared 3 days of official mourning in Egypt, where Arafat was born 75 years ago. The US Embassy, meanwhile, has recommended that Americans keep a low profile and avoid places where crowds or demonstrations might occur. We are quite happy with staying in our apartment for a couple days, working on the blog, reading (Faith is reading the 1,000+ page “Cairo Trilogy” by Nobel-prize winner Naguib Mahfouz, who is Egyptian), eating, and otherwise relaxing. I will be sure to include more updates on Arafat as events occur. The funeral is scheduled for 11:00 am, a little under 3 hours from now.
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