Lethargicize

Cairo is hot and the Cairo metro hotter even in spite of the jet-force speed of ceiling fans and open windows. Which is why the ladies only car is such a relief. From the pink velvet chairs to the attendants offering pedicures to the constant trill of happy gossip and soft hisses of a needlepoint in progress, it's a respite from the demanding city streets. The men really don't know what they're missing!

Whatermelon

This watermelon cart in Cairo's Boulaq neighborhood is one of identical hundreds throughout the city. Without any evidence, I was long-convinced that the alluring display slices were dyed red, which put me off. But maybe the watermelons really are that good, and I should learn to be more trusting.

Feels Like Sand

The khamseen season is supposed to end in April, but this week was unseasonably sandy and hot and my colleagues spent a good deal of "water cooler" time complaining about it. It's the usual office chatter about the weather, sort of like what other people might have about extended rainstorms or cold snaps, until they realize how lucky they are.

To the uninitiated, talk of giant clouds of sand besieging the city, blocking the sun, and trapping the heat, seem part of an orientalist fantasy, a more suitable script for Rudolph Valentino in a turban than the unveiled Director of Human Resources. But sandstorms are very real, something every Egyptian realizes the moment they are forced to navigate their feluca down the Nile in one (pictured above).