Thursday, October 11, 2007

time to relax

This is her time to relax:
With a cup tea! In addition, maybe a shisha!
Look at this woman. She is in her house, in her daily house clothes. She has tied around her head - and hair – the mandeel mahalawy, as it is called. It has nothing to do with Islam; my aunts used to do the same and my mother, maybe because of the dust in the house when they were moving around doing their routine cleaning. They also tied it firmly over their heads when they had a headache, sometimes they tied a big copper key with it as it is believed to be a cure for headaches.
They drink tea many times a day with a lot of sugar: morning, noon, after meals, and after noon and night.
Such a cheap relaxation!

1 comment:

P said...

This is what I need: sugary tea and a big copper key.

I love the stripe-y green and white of this photo and how she is so much a part of her surroundings.

I am enjoying the photos and commentary immensely, Elly and Raouf!