Winter weather

Nice winter weather today. We were blessed with a double rainbow this morning and then a gentle downpour.

Where is this? - #15

Here's a new picture for the 'Where is this?' challenge. If you think you know where it is (or you want to guess) click on comments. Click on the picture to see an enlarged image.

The pictures for the game 'Where is this?' have all been taken from someplace in Libya and are in an area open to the public. The prize for the winner will be the satisfaction of knowing that you had the right answer! - I'll let you know who the winner is.

*** So far only Highlander has tried to answer this challenge... Is it because it's too difficult this time? I've decided to give you some hints! - see how nice I am!!

Hint # One : It's not in Tripoli

Hint # Two :
Hope this helps!!
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Beacon commented: Is it on the way to or in Tajoura?

and I said: Beacon.... be more specific!

Then Syd commented: The old church on the Tagura high way that goes to Benghazi road ? It is on a small hillock that has been bulldozed on one side . It is on the left hand side as you drive toward the sea ?

Well, it's in Tajoura and Syd has placed it exactly - so I guess credit should go to both, but more to Syd. It's actually not a church but a chapel which is smaller than a church. From the information that I have it was built by the Italian family that once lived on that land and was used by the families and their workers that lived in the area.

The structure is crumbling but it's interesting to see and photograph. I imagine it would make a really weird black-and-white set for a music video or something.

There are still some farms in the area but many houses are being built on the farmland. We talked with one of the boys living nearby and he said that people often stop by to take photos of the old chapel. I don't think that I've ever seen any online.

There isn't much left of the structure, one side is almost completely gone.

The chapel was once a gathering place for the people who lived near, now the chapel is only visited by crazy people like me with their cameras.... and a home to pigeons and bats.

Education in Libya

Recently an office opened up in a house in a residential area of Tripoli. While passing by I noticed that they had installed a sign announcing that this was the 'home' of the Libyan National Commission for Education, Culture and Science.

I found a few things rather strange about this. First, was that the sign was written in both Arabic and English. What's strange about that, you ask? Well, according to Libyan laws it is illegal to have any signs in languages other than Arabic. Stiff fines are imposed on anyone who breaks this law. I guess that the education commission is exempt, but that's weird because I think these are a the same people who are behind the law in the first place.

But what is even more of an eye opener is that on closer inspection of the sign I found this:

I wasn't sure whether I should cry, laugh, or just feel ashamed.

The neighbours upstairs are making us crazy!

The workers upstairs are so stupid! They've been banging away like mad in the bathroom. The noise has been deafening. Recently it sounded as though they would be breaking through the ceiling at any moment. Mustafa and Adam went up to investigate and what do you suppose they found?

The workers were indeed trying to go through the floor and into our flat! The had bought huge pipes, the kind that are used outdoors to connect the house to the sewer systems, and they wanted to connect these pipes from the bathtub drain across the bathroom and then on to the outside sewer system. But in order for them to fit they decided that they would have to go through the ceiling in my bathroom and then on and out through the wall of my bathroom. They said they wanted these big, huge pipes so that there would never be a problem with the drains getting clogged. (Maybe they think people are in the habit of using the bathtub as a toilet!!)

They'd managed to knock away the floor up there so that the ceiling is only about an inch thick! I suggested they could just continue on knocking out the hole and put in some steps and share our bathroom. They have revised their original plans and today they are upstairs trying to sort out their near disaster. Now, not only is there banging going on, there's lots of shouting and yelling too because Mustafa has decided that since the new neighbour can't manage to supervise his workers than he will do it.

hmmm... maybe I should get a pot of tea going just in case stupid Egyptian peasants who call themselves plumbers visitors 'drop' in unexpectedly.

By the way... I'm switching my blog to the new Beta version. You'll have to be a bit patient while I make sure all the links and things work.

Well, here I go again....

Well, here I go again, posting a holiday story...

My students have been set the task of writing a childhood memory. I wrote one last year and posted it on our school's blog as an example. I've dug it out once again for my students.

I thought I would mention it on my blog for anyone who wanted to read it... it's got a nice holiday theme! Here's the link: A childhood memory - Christmas story

Happy Holidays to you all!

Some progress

The doors and windows are finally being installed in the house. They still need to be stained and varnished with the final colour (which of course we're arguing about). It's starting to look like some progress is being made but of course for every step forward it seems there are two steps backward...
The painter convinced my husband that orange ceilings were 'all the rage' nowadays and that we should paint ours that way. In real life the ceiling is actually a much brighter orange than it appears in the picture above. Needless to say, I was not pleased! The ceiling will be repainted, white .... OR ELSE!!!!!!

Aside from the fiasco of the orange ceiling the guest room's bathroom floor needs to be pulled up and tiled all over again because water pools in the corner instead of going down the drain like it's supposed to.

Eventually the house will be finished.... won't it???

A winner!

Someone has the correct answer to 'Where is this? - #14. Have a look to see who it is and to see the pictures I've added.