We had a sandstorm last night! In Egypt March is typically the month of the "Khamseen", Arabic for the number 50 due to the nearly 50 days of winds and sandstorms the city experiences. It is extremely unusual to have a sandstorm this time of year. We had an unusually hot, dry, oven-like day and people said, in hindsight, that is an indicator of a sandstorm coming. Personally, I failed to detect the subtle difference between today's "hot and dry" and any other day, but apparently the long-timers could pick up on it.
I went for a trail run in the wadi after school with a group and on our drive back into town we noticed how hazy the air was but we just chalked it up to a bad pollution day. I got home, showered, and then headed out to pick up a friend on foot and walk to dinner with her. It was unreal. The level of dust and grit in the air was huge, the trails of light cast by car headlights illuminating all the sand and dust were eerie. And the WIND! By the time I walked the 4 minutes to my friend's apartment I felt like my shower had been a waste of time. Grit was plastered to my face and clothes, my contacts were caked and traffic was a mess. Apparently the storm was coming from the north. One of the other women we were meeting for dinner had a friend who was driving to Alexandria for the weekend and he called to tell her that traffic was stopped on the road because they couldn't drive (just like we would stop because of a blizzard in Buffalo or Michigan).
We walked out of the restaurant 2 hours later to slightly cooler temps and clean-er air.
1 comment:
UGH! I think if I had to choose, snow vs sand, I'd chose snow. At least it doesn't leave you feeling gritty. No feeling because you are frozen, correct? :-)
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