October news

October News Letter

On the way to the Pigeon market
by Adel Salem

On my trips to Egypt, I have always experienced more than pigeons. The mystique of Egypt is captivating, no matter how many times I have been there. For me it is the most rewarding experience and a soul enriching one. Imagine some one who hasn't! But don't worry I will take you with me for a visit to the pigeon market (souk El Hamam) where you could buy pigeons among other unusual commodities.
It's Friday in the old quarter of Cairo, and whizzing by me, dodging the potholes, are two cloaked men on bicycles. Balanced on their heads are wooden planks about a meter square. One arm is holding the plank and the other is clutched on to the bicycle firmly. Watching those guys making their way among the densely populated streets beats tour de France or walking on ropes in a famed circus. Their only horn is high pitch whistle, which is used for a spontaneous reaction. On those planks are piled dozens of loaves of unleavened bread, what we call in Egypt baladi bread. They are quietest thing in the streets, which says something in Cairo, the city of noise-ear splitting, nerve-racking, shoulder stiffing noise that makes you feel that you're early into a 10-vodka hangover if all you drank last night were two mint teas.
In fact, it is the noise above all else that make you realize, in this urban stronghold of centuries gone by, that you are in fact in the modern era. The chief culprit is the car horn, which comes in from every conceivable direction with deafening variety, from classic North American honk to whistle squeal and irritating buzz, and which is used not just to express frustration at the jammed streets, but also to signal to waive back, and when all else fails, to fill the void and pass the time.
Coming a close second in creating a mind-numbing racket are the loud speakers that on certain days deliver long sermons to the people. Mosques and churches are vying against each other to see who could make the loudest call. Side walk Cafes have their radios at full blast. When all going at the same time, it makes you feel like in a big parade, delivering through enormous amplifiers at a maximum volume. So why is it I love Cairo so much beside I was born there and a place to get the best Egyptian Swifts in the world? I think it must have something to do with the fact that, part of the city does seem to exist in another century. And that is no more than it's medieval quarter. Walk through the ornate , disneyes-que gates of the old city, past the falafel ( vegetarian patties of beans and green herbs, fried in deep oil) stands and the herb stalls, and you walk into. . . you walk into another era.
To be continued.

E-mail and trivia
Q:What would I expect my offspring of yellows to look like?
A: Yellows when pure (recessive genes), express three shades:light salmon color (mawardy), Asfar (light yellow) or white almond, which is white with a yellow mane. The offspring should have one of the three colors above. Beaks and toenails are white in color.
Mating with Blue Velvet (Azrak Katifa) might introduce shades of powder gray on the tail and occasionally on the primaries (genetically known as grizzled). You will also get the color of the two original parents. This grizzled bird is called Kawanky in Egypt. If Blue velvets are
introduced for more than one generation, blue streaks will show on the entire body and beaks turn dark.
Q:What to choose for in young Swifts?
Their growth rate is the primary factor for us who fly Swifts. They should be out of the nest at almost the same speed as a pair Homers. Slow growing birds due to inbreeding will tend to stay in the nest for longer time. Their feathers appear weak and mature much slower than those of strong birds. Slow grower is not a bird to select from to fly.
My second pick is the color and beak setting. These two items overlap and no preference of one over the other, but the decision is made depending on my needs and how that will complement generation to come.
Birds length is not a primary issue for me all the times. Again if you have very long birds, a selection for short birds will be an issue to keep the birds in check.
A strict show fancier will not worry much about the growth rate, but should worry about beak setting, color and length in that order.
New Server:
You probably have noticed the NBCI logo as you surfed to this site, which was previously powered by Xoom. There are few glitches here and there. The most annoying one that happen to me since I have an old pentium, is getting a message to reload the page again. It usually loads on the second time and I expect that to happen to many of you. I also had to change the setting on my computer to transfer the updated information. This has created a delay and NBC tells us "to be patient as they apologize for the inconvenience".
Typo mistake:
Thanks you for correcting me. The mistake appeared under the frequently asked questions(FAQ) page in a question about: what they call the Swifts in Egypt? They are correctly called "Gohzar". Hardly no one knows them by Swifts in Egypt. (Please refer to FAQ link for more)
While I would like not to make any mistakes, it seems unavoidable. They will be corrected on the first notice.
For questions and comments, please feel free to E-mail. Your questions and observation will help others. Drop few lines about what you have experienced in a show or your opinion.

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