Saturday, May 07, 2005
The Journey...Jan 31, 2003
Yesterday, as I requested, Karim took me to the Graeco-Roman Museum. We had trouble getting in as they wanted the "American" to pay tourist rate and required proof of marriage otherwise. Karim threatened them with the consul & they relented.
The artifacts were heaven! Statues of Gods & Goddesses & Emperors & Pharoahs, etc. Statues Everywhere! I especially enjoyed those of Julius Caesar (a great likeness, evidently) and a huge head of Marc Antony from the 1st century BC. The wrappings around the mummies were woven in such intricate patterns & so perfectly they looked as if they were made by machine. The Byzantine section was fabulous and I was impressed by the samples of embroidered clothes & fabric fragments. The embroidery was meticulous & made the modern seamstress look like a fool!
Afterwords we went to the sea for 5 minutes & then to AbdelMoneim's shop, where we discussed bloodwork ("we" meaning Karim and ABM). So, I had my blood taken for an HIV test to put on the marriage certificate.
We are now married unofficially. We signed the paper & had two witnesses (father and stepfather) sign & fill out the info. It counts as marriage in the social circle but it is yet unofficial--legal, but not registered. So, we are sending the divorce paper to Mom to get authenticated so we can get permission from the consul to marry. The sooner, the better.
The artifacts were heaven! Statues of Gods & Goddesses & Emperors & Pharoahs, etc. Statues Everywhere! I especially enjoyed those of Julius Caesar (a great likeness, evidently) and a huge head of Marc Antony from the 1st century BC. The wrappings around the mummies were woven in such intricate patterns & so perfectly they looked as if they were made by machine. The Byzantine section was fabulous and I was impressed by the samples of embroidered clothes & fabric fragments. The embroidery was meticulous & made the modern seamstress look like a fool!
Afterwords we went to the sea for 5 minutes & then to AbdelMoneim's shop, where we discussed bloodwork ("we" meaning Karim and ABM). So, I had my blood taken for an HIV test to put on the marriage certificate.
We are now married unofficially. We signed the paper & had two witnesses (father and stepfather) sign & fill out the info. It counts as marriage in the social circle but it is yet unofficial--legal, but not registered. So, we are sending the divorce paper to Mom to get authenticated so we can get permission from the consul to marry. The sooner, the better.
