Readers of this site may be aware that I am a friend of Korean cuisine. Having spent six important years of my life in Seoul, I have developed a special affection for Korean food which I tend to call the most tasteful food available on earth.
Wherever I go, I look out for Korean (yes, […]

From a blogging perspective, my 2007 has been an awful year. But then, as readers of this site may know, I have never concealed that I am not the pro-blogging type. More serious than the laxity with which I have dealt with this site, I find that 2007 has seen me giving up writing political […]

For me, the blog is not the place to deal with all too personal matters. However, I will start this post with mentioning yesterday’s argument with my wife: It’s been some time since I was back home for an entire weekend, and the free time, she said, would be a good occasion to get back […]

In contrast to the recent commotion, going to Hydra is a practice of routine. We have been coming to this beautiful island in the Saronic Gulf every summer the past five years. To make the point, we stay in the same hotel, and even in the same room.

For me, returning to Greece, is always a […]

Once more, I missed to update from Cairo. Meanwhile, my little family and I are in Hydra for our annual retreat - and, also, immersion into Greek life and culture.
The past couple of weeks have, once more, been packed with interesting experiences and personal encounters in the Middle East. I sense an urge to […]

Our son is in the wonderful age of six and, thus, in a phase in which he is pro actively exploring his environment - and, at times, also the universe. During an extended breakfast session this Friday morning - a day off in predominantly Muslim Egypt - the boy confronted his parents with a clear […]

Most things in life have two sides. Therefore, it is difficult, if not impossible to find ideal solutions. What may sound philosophical, has very practical implications.
As readers of this site may know, I came to Cairo some five months ago as a part of a professional promotion. I moved up the ranks and joined a […]

You may know by now that I am involved in an effort to learn (Egyptian) Arabic. What started some months ago on the banks of the river Rhine with Mustafa Osh, has found fruitful continuation here in Cairo with a competent Egyptian teacher named Nancy Fahmy.
I try to go to classes twice a week. Having […]

I belong to those people who spend most of the time they are not in bed sleeping at the office. Not that I don’t enjoy the hours at home with the family. But, luckily, working for me has always been more than a means to simply earn a living.
As I spend all that valuable […]

Eventually, I hope to find time to share with you some of my thoughts and experiences coming back and settling in Cairo after more than four decades. My first weeks in Egypt have been packed with deja-vues. One of the more remarkable of these often emotional experiences has been a reunion with former school mates […]