Cairo's big day

I've been sitting here in my study watching and listening to the White House's streaming broadcast of Obama's speech here in Cairo.

From 11 am onward I've been sitting back here, trying to find a site that was broadcasting the speech. I don't have a TV, so I couldn't just flip on CNN.

Eventually I discovered the White House site, and to my pleasure my atrocious internet connection held up all the way through to the end - although the picture froze every few seconds, the audio came through just fine.

I found myself impressed with Obama's powerful language - I guess we're committed to a two-state solution now. I admit I don't know quite what our stance was before, since I feel too ignorant and biased to have any reliable insight into the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The speech ended, the stream shut off, and I was wandering about the apartment, trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my afternoon.

And then ... my brain finally registered a sound that I think I'd been half-listening for all day ....

Helicopters!

I flung open the doors to my balcony, scaring a few lives out of my cats, and I darted out onto my balcony - burning my bare feet on the blistering-hot tiles that have been baking all day in the Cairo sun.


Three (or maybe four) enormous gray military helicopters came into Garden City on a low approach. I ran back into the flat, cursed my broken camera (from Mt Moses, more on that later), and snatched up my cell phone and my field glasses. I took two pictures but forgot to save the second photo in my excitement.

Two of the helicopters continued their low approach over the Nile, but the third helicopter made a series of low circles over the American embassy up the street, swinging alarmingly close to my building in the process. I certainly didn't need a sniper taking potshots at the lunatic in the red tank top hopping up and down on the patio!

Finally the third helicopter pulled up into a high approach and dropped out of sight over the Novotel in Zamalek. I have no clue where they were heading (why Zamalek?) but I immediately called a buddy in Zamalek and gabbled at her to go out on her balcony.

Since I was here during the election I don't have much of an emotional investment in Obama - and I feel like the only human being on Earth who says that. But there's just something about knowing that the leader of the free world, America's darling, is only a few hundred meters away in your backyard!


I'm hoping the helicopters will swing back this way to take him to the airport in Heliopolis. I'm keeping my cell phone, my field glasses, and my sandals right next to the door to the balcony, just in case.

Boy my feet hurt!